Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $27.95 and last traded at $27.9320, with a volume of 400709 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BCS. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Barclays in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Piper Sandler raised Barclays from an “overweight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research downgraded Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Barclays from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Five 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $94.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.39.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.88 billion. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 21.10%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 3,036.4% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barclays Company Profile

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.