Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research 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 recent research reports. Bank of America lowered Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Barclays from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Barclays by 2.2% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 50,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Barclays in the 2nd quarter valued at $225,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Barclays by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 59,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 4,301 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Barclays by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Barclays during the 2nd quarter worth $456,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Price Performance

NYSE BCS opened at $24.98 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.01. Barclays has a 12-month low of $19.29 and a 12-month high of $28.68.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.01. Barclays had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company had revenue of $10.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.78 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Barclays will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.3134 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 224.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Barclays Company Profile

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is a diversified financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1690, it has developed from a London-based banking business into an international group serving individuals, businesses, institutions and governments.

Barclays’ principal activities include consumer and business banking, residential mortgages, savings and lending products, credit cards, payments, and wealth management. Through its investment banking operations, the company provides corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, markets services, research, risk management and other advisory services to corporate, institutional and government clients.

The company serves customers primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States, while its corporate, investment banking and markets activities operate across major financial centers worldwide.