StockNews.com Downgrades Barclays (NYSE:BCS) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays (NYSE:BCS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BCS. Kepler Capital Markets assumed coverage on Barclays in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Barclays in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of BCS opened at $13.09 on Wednesday. Barclays has a one year low of $6.58 and a one year high of $13.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $47.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.41.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 17.83%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Barclays will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCS. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Barclays by 1,362.1% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 19,682,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,762,000 after purchasing an additional 18,335,937 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Barclays by 11.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,007,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,690,000 after acquiring an additional 426,815 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barclays by 190.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,661,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,210,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,500 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Barclays by 286.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,565,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,608 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Barclays by 118.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,709,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,017,000 after buying an additional 1,470,523 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.