Short Interest in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Expands By 23.6%

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,951,665 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the November 30th total of 7,241,499 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,047,429 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,047,429 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Barclays Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:BCS traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.49. 2,111,472 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,335,979. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.94. Barclays has a 52 week low of $12.14 and a 52 week high of $25.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.72.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Barclays by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 83,062,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,544,139,000 after purchasing an additional 9,692,999 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,188,263 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Barclays by 793.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,777,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,073,000 after buying an additional 4,242,360 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Barclays in the second quarter worth approximately $63,206,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Barclays in the second quarter worth approximately $57,568,000. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BCS. Zacks Research downgraded Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. 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. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barclays presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.