Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Barclays (NYSE:BCS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BCS. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barclays has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE BCS opened at $20.06 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.02. Barclays has a 52 week low of $12.14 and a 52 week high of $27.70. The company has a market cap of $69.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $9.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 8.33%. Research analysts anticipate that Barclays will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.3069 dividend. This represents a yield of 236.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Barclays during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Barclays in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

About Barclays

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.