Barclays (LON:BARC) Insider Purchases £32,558.89 in Stock

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) insider Nigel Higgins purchased 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 481 per share, for a total transaction of £32,558.89.

Barclays Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of LON:BARC traded down GBX 13.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching GBX 450.09. 61,232,012 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,317,766. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 474.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 416.71. Barclays PLC has a one year low of GBX 223.75 and a one year high of GBX 506.40. The company has a market cap of £62.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36.

Barclays (LON:BARC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported GBX 8.60 EPS for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.97% and a net margin of 19.54%. Analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 39.1062802 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Barclays this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Barclays directors (including the chairman and several non-executives) acquired stock on Feb. 11 under the firm’s fee-in-stock policy — routine insider buying by board members can signal confidence and support sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays has continued its buy-back programme and cancelled further shares, shrinking the free float — a smaller share base plus buybacks tends to be supportive for the share price over time. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management has pledged significant returns to shareholders (FT: Barclays vows to return ~£15bn after a profit boost), which supports dividend/buyback-driven valuation narratives. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly results: Barclays reported GBX 8.60 EPS for the quarter with a 19.5% net margin and 6.97% RoE — solid operating margins but ROE remains modest relative to peers; the print is neither clearly transformative nor alarmingly weak. (Company release summarized in filings/updates)
• Negative Sentiment: Press scrutiny around executive pay — FT reports bank bosses’ pay at highest levels in over a decade (Barclays CEO ~£15m) — could raise governance and reputational concerns for investors sensitive to remuneration and public perception. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Historic governance/legal headline: an FT report says an Epstein trustee document contradicts testimony by former Barclays boss Jes Staley — such legacy issues can weigh on sentiment and raise regulatory/PR risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Disclosures of share disposals by some senior executives were also reported — insider selling can be read as a mild negative or routine regulatory filings; weigh these against the board-level purchases. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Barclays from GBX 440 to GBX 475 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Barclays from GBX 480 to GBX 570 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Barclays from GBX 455 to GBX 470 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Barclays from GBX 500 to GBX 570 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Shore Capital Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Barclays presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 499.17.

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. In addition, the company engages in securities dealing activities. The company was formerly known as Barclays Bank Limited and changed its name to Barclays PLC in January 1985.