Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.94, but opened at $15.01. Barclays shares last traded at $14.88, with a volume of 3,437,933 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Barclays Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $53.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.38. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.34.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.2737 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 28.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 135.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.