Hedges Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 120,500 Barclays PLC $BCS

Hedges Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 120,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,067,000. Barclays makes up about 2.2% of Hedges Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC acquired a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in shares of Barclays by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 26,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 5,207 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Barclays by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Barclays by 131.4% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 32,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 18,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Barclays by 189.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 17,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 11,236 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BCS. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research lowered Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Barclays Stock Performance

NYSE:BCS traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,226,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,032,285. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.28. The stock has a market cap of $83.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Barclays PLC has a 1 year low of $14.32 and a 1 year high of $27.70.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $9.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.23 billion. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 21.91%. Analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.3069 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 236.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Barclays’s payout ratio is 25.33%.

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.