Short Interest in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Increases By 90.4%

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,490,000 shares, a growth of 90.4% from the November 30th total of 4,460,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Barclays by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 6,818 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Barclays by 10.3% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 66,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Barclays during the 2nd quarter worth $1,467,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Barclays in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 76,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 7,086 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BCS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Kepler Capital Markets initiated coverage on Barclays in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Barclays Stock Performance

Shares of BCS traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,529,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,148,655. 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 1-year low of $7.07 and a 1-year high of $13.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.17. The stock has a market cap of $47.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 1.41.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 6.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Barclays will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.