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

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

Several research analysts have recently commented on BCS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup downgraded Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd.

Barclays Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE BCS opened at $20.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.04. Barclays has a twelve month low of $11.94 and a twelve month high of $21.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70. The company has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.12. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 22.11%.The business had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.06 billion. Research analysts forecast that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.1557 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is 14.75%.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AMG National Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 0.5% in the second quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 105,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 1.1% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 56,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 3.4% in the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 19,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 2.2% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 31,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 3.4% in the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 21,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.