Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on Barclays in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Barclays Stock Down 2.7 %

Barclays stock opened at $12.96 on Friday. Barclays has a 1-year low of $7.02 and a 1-year high of $13.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $46.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $12.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.75.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Barclays will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 7.7% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 11,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Barclays by 4.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 20,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 10.0% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 32.4% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in shares of Barclays by 6.9% during the third quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 17,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Company Profile

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.