Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $15.43 and last traded at $15.36, with a volume of 441851 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th.

Barclays Trading Down 5.4 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $52.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.41.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. 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 6.30% and a net margin of 17.83%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Barclays PLC will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,432,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,149,000 after acquiring an additional 667,498 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 5,930,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,816,000 after buying an additional 484,497 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,635,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,901,000 after buying an additional 505,351 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $66,117,000 after buying an additional 1,409,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth $59,373,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.