Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Short Interest Up 32.7% in February

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,800,000 shares, a growth of 32.7% from the January 31st total of 8,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 15,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Barclays by 33.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 21,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 5,439 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 48.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 35,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 1,115.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 19,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 17,840 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 29.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 190,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 43,786 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the third quarter valued at $126,000. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Trading Up 3.2 %

Barclays stock opened at $16.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $58.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Barclays has a 1 year low of $8.77 and a 1 year high of $16.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.27.

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

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.2737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.80%.

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.