Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company.

Several analysts have recently commented on BCS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Monday, November 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 12,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Barclays during the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Barclays by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 2,141 shares during the last quarter. QP Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $577,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 106,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,703,000 after purchasing an additional 13,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Price Performance

Shares of BCS opened at $26.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $90.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.98. Barclays has a 52-week low of $12.14 and a 52-week high of $26.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.94, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $9.21 billion during the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 8.19%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current year.

About Barclays

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.