Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Barclays (NYSE:BCS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barclays has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Barclays Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BCS traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,571,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,080,298. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45. Barclays has a 12 month low of $12.14 and a 12 month high of $27.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.96.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 21.91%.The business had revenue of $72.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.23 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.3069 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 238.0%. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.97%.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Barclays in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barclays Company Profile

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is a British multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in London. The firm provides a broad range of banking and financial products to individual, corporate and institutional customers. Its core activities span retail and business banking, credit cards and payments, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

In retail and business banking, Barclays offers deposit accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, and card services.