Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $27.29 and last traded at $27.23, with a volume of 828937 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BCS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $93.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.13.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $9.21 billion during the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 8.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 3.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 86,027,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,778,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964,420 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barclays by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 9,886,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,357,000 after purchasing an additional 549,497 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Barclays by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,841,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,247 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Barclays by 793.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,777,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,073,000 after purchasing an additional 4,242,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Barclays by 4.5% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,855,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,684,000 after buying an additional 167,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Company Profile

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is a British multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in London. The firm provides a broad range of banking and financial products to individual, corporate and institutional customers. Its core activities span retail and business banking, credit cards and payments, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

In retail and business banking, Barclays offers deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, and card services.