Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Barclays (NYSE:BCS) in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Barclays from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCS opened at $7.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.89, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.93. Barclays has a one year low of $5.89 and a one year high of $9.44. The firm has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a PE ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.37.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. Barclays had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Barclays will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCS. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Barclays by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 27,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 15,653 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Barclays by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 144,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 15,193 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Barclays during the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. Strategic Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Barclays by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 56,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 2,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors raised its position in Barclays by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 19,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 7,611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Barclays Plc operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management services. The firm operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International segments. The Barclays UK segment consists the U.K. retail banking operations, U.K.