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

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $24.51 and last traded at $24.3460, with a volume of 5162695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BCS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.94. The company has a market cap of $84.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.75 and its 200-day moving average is $20.22.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $9.21 billion for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 21.26%. On average, analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barclays during the first quarter valued at approximately $697,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barclays during the second quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 8,088.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 882,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,549,000 after buying an additional 871,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the first quarter worth $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.