Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays (NYSE:BCS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Barclays Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Barclays stock opened at $15.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $56.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.40. Barclays has a one year low of $8.37 and a one year high of $16.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.14. 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) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 20.81%. On average, analysts forecast that Barclays will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.2737 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.80%.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of 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 valued at $88,789,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,912 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Barclays by 11.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,432,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,149,000 after purchasing an additional 667,498 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Barclays by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,059,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,531,000 after buying an additional 1,029,401 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 5,930,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,816,000 after buying an additional 484,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $74,901,000 after buying an additional 505,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

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.