Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Barclays (LON:BARC) Stock

Barclays (LON:BARC) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Citigroup from GBX 440 to GBX 475 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 1.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BARC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Barclays from GBX 500 to GBX 570 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Barclays from GBX 455 to GBX 470 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Barclays from GBX 435 to GBX 500 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 499.17.

Barclays Trading Down 0.4%

Barclays stock opened at GBX 483.38 on Thursday. Barclays has a 1-year low of GBX 223.75 and a 1-year high of GBX 492.95. The firm has a market capitalization of £66.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 455.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 403.27.

Barclays (LON:BARC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 16th. The financial services provider reported GBX 24.70 earnings per share for the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 6.97%. On average, research analysts forecast that Barclays will post 39.1062802 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Barclays

Here are the key news stories impacting Barclays this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Deutsche Bank raised its price target sharply to GBX 570 and put a “buy” rating on Barclays — a strong vote of confidence that can support the share price if investors follow the call. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Share buy‑back activity: Barclays continued its ongoing buy‑back and cancelled roughly 2.47 million ordinary shares, reducing share count and supporting EPS — a direct capital‑allocation positive for shareholders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Investment‑banking pipeline: Financial Times reports (via Cointelegraph) say Ledger is courting bankers including Barclays for a potential US IPO (~$4bn valuation). Winning IPO mandates would boost fees and reinforce Barclays’ ECM/IB franchise. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed broker view: Citi lifted its target to GBX 475 but kept a “neutral” rating — a modest positive to targets but not a conviction buy signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / research mentions: Barclays’ own research was featured (Top US software picks) and third‑party writeups (Seeking Alpha questioning valuation after a rally). These publications raise visibility but are indirect to Barclays’ fundamentals. Read More. — Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/markets commentary: Barclays economists/currency strategists are quoted on issues like the Indian rupee — useful for client franchise and markets desks but not an immediate earnings driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Customer announcement headlines: Some outlets ran vague alerts about an “intense” announcement affecting millions of customers — unclear details create short‑term reputational risk and could spook retail sentiment until clarified. Read More.

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.