Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $18.23 and last traded at $18.16, with a volume of 342299 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BCS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Barclays Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.75.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Barclays had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The firm had revenue of $10.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.37 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCS. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 33,607,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $516,163,000 after acquiring an additional 9,188,263 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Barclays by 485.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,680,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,789,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,912 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Barclays during the 4th quarter worth $59,373,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Barclays by 78.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 8,892,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,593,000 after purchasing an additional 3,917,785 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,189,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barclays Company Profile

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.