Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Short Interest Update

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,270,000 shares, a drop of 25.5% from the March 15th total of 23,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,410,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Barclays in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Barclays during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Barclays by 135.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BCS opened at $14.69 on Friday. Barclays has a 1 year low of $9.26 and a 1 year high of $16.34. The company has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.09 and its 200-day moving average is $13.95.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 20.81%. Equities research analysts predict that Barclays will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.2737 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s payout ratio is currently 29.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barclays has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.