Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company.

BCS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, December 11th.

Barclays Stock Up 0.4%

BCS stock opened at $24.37 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $84.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.94, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.22. Barclays has a fifty-two week low of $12.14 and a fifty-two week high of $24.83.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $9.21 billion during the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 8.19%. As a group, analysts forecast that Barclays will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Barclays by 3.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 86,027,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,778,185,000 after buying an additional 2,964,420 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Barclays by 37.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 33,607,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,163,000 after acquiring an additional 9,188,263 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Barclays by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 9,886,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,357,000 after acquiring an additional 549,497 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Barclays by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,976,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,441,000 after purchasing an additional 509,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,841,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,247 shares during the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is currently 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.