Barclays Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BCS)

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 5,014 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 90% compared to the typical volume of 2,641 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in Barclays by 3,036.4% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the period. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barclays from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Barclays in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded Barclays from an “overweight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Price Performance

BCS opened at $26.86 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.00. Barclays has a 52 week low of $19.28 and a 52 week high of $28.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.76, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.01. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 22.27%.The company had revenue of $10.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.78 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Barclays will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.3134 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a yield of 224.0%. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

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.