Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $18.23 and last traded at $18.16, with a volume of 342299 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCS. BNP Paribas raised shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Barclays Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.75, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $64.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.11.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.37 billion. Barclays had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 8.04%. On average, research analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCS. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Barclays by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 33,607,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,163,000 after buying an additional 9,188,263 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Barclays by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 17,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 6,771 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Barclays by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 350,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,379,000 after buying an additional 5,064 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Barclays by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 32,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Barclays in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

About Barclays

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.