Short Interest in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Drops By 14.5%

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,770,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the March 31st total of 17,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 19,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Barclays from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Barclays Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of BCS stock opened at $16.28 on Friday. Barclays has a 52-week low of $10.16 and a 52-week high of $16.36. The stock has a market cap of $58.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50-day moving average is $15.20 and its 200-day moving average is $14.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.37 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 7.74%. Sell-side analysts predict that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.2737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Barclays's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCS. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 485.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,680,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,789,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,912 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,059,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,401 shares in the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Barclays by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 5,930,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,816,000 after purchasing an additional 484,497 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,635,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,901,000 after buying an additional 505,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Barclays by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,974,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,117,000 after buying an additional 1,409,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Barclays Company Profile

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.

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