Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barclays (NYSE:BCS) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

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

Barclays Price Performance

Shares of BCS opened at $12.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $46.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.37. Barclays has a 12 month low of $6.27 and a 12 month high of $13.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 16.83% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The company had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Barclays will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.2684 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is 21.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Barclays by 1,362.1% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Barclays by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,007,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,690,000 after acquiring an additional 426,815 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew 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 buying an additional 2,402,500 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Barclays by 118.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,709,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,358,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,258,000 after buying an additional 105,857 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.