Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Stock Rating Upgraded by BNP Paribas

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BCS traded down $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,319,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,894,498. The company has a market capitalization of $56.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.45, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.23. Barclays has a fifty-two week low of $8.63 and a fifty-two week high of $16.23.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Barclays by 485.0% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 5,538,912 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Barclays by 11.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,432,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,149,000 after purchasing an additional 667,498 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Barclays by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,059,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,401 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $78,816,000 after purchasing an additional 484,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 505,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.