Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company.

BCS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th.

Barclays Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:BCS opened at $20.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.49. The company has a market capitalization of $73.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.70, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Barclays has a 1-year low of $11.48 and a 1-year high of $20.82.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.06 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 8.49%. On average, equities analysts predict that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.1557 per share. This represents a yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is 14.75%.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Barclays by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Barclays by 187.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 188,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,496,000 after acquiring an additional 122,557 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Barclays by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 233,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,347,000 after acquiring an additional 6,819 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in Barclays by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 384,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,415 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Barclays during the 2nd quarter valued at about $118,000. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.