Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.74 and last traded at $28.55, with a volume of 10770 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BCS. Weiss Ratings raised Barclays from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Barclays in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Barclays from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $97.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.79.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.78 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 8.80%. On average, equities analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.3134 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 233.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Barclays’s payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial grew its position in shares of Barclays by 3,036.4% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.