Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.23 and last traded at $15.84, with a volume of 34894366 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Barclays Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $57.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.39 and its 200-day moving average is $13.23.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 20.81%. Equities analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.2737 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.80%.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCS. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Barclays by 485.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,680,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,789,000 after purchasing an additional 5,538,912 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,373,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Barclays in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,335,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Barclays during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,189,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Barclays by 667.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,603,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,133,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

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.