Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Hits New 12-Month High at $10.69

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $10.69 and last traded at $10.66, with a volume of 2213973 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $10.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barclays has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $190.00.

Barclays Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.15, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock's fifty day moving average is $9.44 and its 200-day moving average is $8.11. The stock has a market cap of $40.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.43.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.38 billion. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.13% and a net margin of 17.21%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.2671 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Barclays's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.14. This represents a dividend yield of 4.6%. Barclays's payout ratio is presently 38.81%.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Barclays by 26.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,238,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,706,000 after acquiring an additional 255,300 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Barclays in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Barclays by 18.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 50,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 7,734 shares in the last quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Barclays by 14.8% during the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 1,069,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,111,000 after buying an additional 138,064 shares during the period. Finally, Callan Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Barclays in the first quarter valued at approximately $109,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.