Barclays PLC $BCS Stock Position Lowered by Hedges Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Hedges Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Barclays PLC by 18.5% during Q2, selling 27,500 shares and holding a total of 120,800 shares, which comprise 1.8% of their portfolio.
• Analysts have mixed views on Barclays, with recent reports including a downgrade from Citigroup from "buy" to "neutral," while Royal Bank Of Canada maintains an "outperform" rating.
• Barclays recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.1557, with a dividend yield of 210.0%, despite operating a low dividend payout ratio of 14.29%.

Hedges Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,500 shares during the quarter. Barclays accounts for about 1.8% of Hedges Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Hedges Asset Management LLC's holdings in Barclays were worth $2,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at $664,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Barclays by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 390,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,186,000 after buying an additional 27,851 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,506 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Barclays by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 183,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BCS. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of BCS traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.77. 5,192,547 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,255,786. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Barclays PLC has a 1-year low of $11.48 and a 1-year high of $21.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $19.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.14.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.12. Barclays had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.06 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.1557 dividend. This represents a yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Barclays's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.29%.

About Barclays

Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International division segments. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services.