Insider Buying: Barclays (LON:BARC) Insider Buys 1,877 Shares of Stock

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) insider Julia Wilson purchased 1,877 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 481 per share, for a total transaction of £9,028.37.

Barclays Price Performance

LON BARC traded down GBX 13.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting GBX 450.09. 61,232,012 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,317,766. The company has a market capitalization of £62.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36. Barclays PLC has a 52-week low of GBX 223.75 and a 52-week high of GBX 506.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is GBX 474.22 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 416.71.

Barclays (LON:BARC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported GBX 8.60 earnings per share for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.97% and a net margin of 19.54%. Equities research analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 39.1062802 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Barclays

Here are the key news stories impacting Barclays this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board-level buying — Barclays’ chairman and several non‑executive directors made routine share acquisitions under the firm’s fee‑in‑stock policy, a signal of insider confidence. Barclays Directors Acquire Shares Under Fee-in-Stock Policy
• Positive Sentiment: Share buy‑back continuation — Barclays announced cancellation of further shares after repurchasing stock (3.13m shares reported), shrinking the free float and supporting EPS and capital metrics. Barclays Cancels Further Shares as Buy-back Shrinks Free Float
• Positive Sentiment: Big shareholder returns pledged — Barclays told investors it will return about £15bn after a profit boost, a large capital distribution that is shareholder‑friendly and typically supports the share price. Barclays vows to return £15bn to shareholders after profit boost
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly results — Barclays reported GBX 8.60 EPS for the quarter with a ~19.5% net margin; fundamentals look healthy but market reaction is mixed as investors weigh capital returns vs. growth outlook. Barclays earnings / MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/strategy commentary — pieces (e.g., Seeking Alpha) outline structural hedge arbitrage and a path to stronger RoTE (~14%), providing a bullish operational thesis but not an immediate catalyst. Structural Hedge Arbitrage Drives Barclays’ Path To 14% RoTE
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/filing update — Barclays Bank PLC filed its 2025 Form 20‑F (routine disclosure of annual results and operations). Useful for due diligence but not an immediate market mover. Barclays Bank PLC Files 2025 Annual Report on Form 20-F
• Negative Sentiment: Senior exec share disposals disclosed — filings show disposals by two senior executives; insider selling can create short‑term concern about management conviction. Barclays Discloses Share Disposals by Senior Executives
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational and governance pressure — FT coverage shows bank chiefs’ pay at decade highs (Barclays CEO ~£15m) and a separate FT story highlights a document contradicting former CEO Jes Staley’s testimony; such headlines can weigh on investor sentiment and political/regulatory scrutiny. UK bank bosses’ pay hits highest level in more than a decade Epstein trustee document contradicts Jes Staley testimony

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BARC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Barclays from GBX 455 to GBX 470 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Barclays from GBX 480 to GBX 570 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Barclays from GBX 440 to GBX 475 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Barclays from GBX 500 to GBX 570 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 499.17.

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.