Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $22.41 and last traded at $22.1550, with a volume of 4637383 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BCS shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.94, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $78.78 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.14.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. Barclays had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $9.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Barclays by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 352,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,412,000 after purchasing an additional 43,607 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the first quarter worth about $697,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Barclays in the second quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Barclays by 8,088.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 882,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,549,000 after acquiring an additional 871,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Barclays during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.