Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Barclays in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new stake in Barclays during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Barclays in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Price Performance

NYSE BCS opened at $24.26 on Friday. Barclays has a one year low of $12.14 and a one year high of $27.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.95 and a 200 day moving average of $22.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $83.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.96.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 21.91%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.3069 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 236.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.76%.

Barclays Company Profile

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is a British multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in London. The firm provides a broad range of banking and financial products to individual, corporate and institutional customers. Its core activities span retail and business banking, credit cards and payments, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

In retail and business banking, Barclays offers deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, and card services.