Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company.

BCS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Bank of America lowered Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Barclays from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd.

Barclays Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCS opened at $23.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.04. Barclays has a twelve month low of $19.83 and a twelve month high of $28.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.80.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). Barclays had a net margin of 22.74% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $9.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Barclays will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Syon Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barclays by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 34,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 14,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Barclays by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 22,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Company Profile

Barclays is a British banking group that provides financial services to individuals, businesses, corporations and institutions. Its principal activities include retail and business banking, credit cards and payments, corporate banking, investment banking and wealth management.

The company serves customers in the United Kingdom and internationally, with a significant presence in the United States. Its businesses include Barclays UK, which focuses on UK consumer and business banking, and Barclays International, which includes its international banking and markets operations.

Barclays traces its origins to goldsmith banking in London in 1690.