Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $14.31, but opened at $13.03. Barclays shares last traded at $12.92, with a volume of 2,572,172 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.83. The company has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.2737 per share. This is a boost from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. Barclays’s payout ratio is presently 29.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Barclays by 485.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,680,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,789,000 after buying an additional 5,538,912 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Barclays by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,059,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,531,000 after buying an additional 1,029,401 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Barclays by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 5,930,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,816,000 after buying an additional 484,497 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Barclays by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,635,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,901,000 after acquiring an additional 505,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Barclays by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,974,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409,948 shares during the period. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.