Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Short Interest Up 35.0% in January

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,460,000 shares, a growth of 35.0% from the December 31st total of 8,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 11,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Barclays by 16.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 514,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,510,000 after acquiring an additional 72,110 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Barclays by 636.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 85,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 73,719 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 74.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 178,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,000 after buying an additional 76,247 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Barclays by 13.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 277,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 31,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Barclays by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,990,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,319,000 after buying an additional 457,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BCS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th.

Barclays Trading Down 0.8 %

Barclays stock opened at $14.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. Barclays has a 12-month low of $7.07 and a 12-month high of $14.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.61 and a 200 day moving average of $12.67.

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.