Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.23 and last traded at $15.84, with a volume of 34894366 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BCS. BNP Paribas raised shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Trading Up 3.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33. The firm has a market cap of $58.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.27.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 7.74%. Equities analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.2737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCS. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Barclays by 485.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,680,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,789,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,912 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,373,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Barclays in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,335,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,189,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Barclays by 667.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,603,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,133,632 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.