Short Interest in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Grows By 12.7%

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,660,000 shares, an increase of 12.7% from the September 30th total of 5,020,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barclays during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. acquired a new position in shares of Barclays during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barclays during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Barclays by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Barclays in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets initiated coverage on Barclays in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.

Barclays Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BCS traded down $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $12.40. 13,122,892 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,647,892. Barclays has a 52 week low of $6.27 and a 52 week high of $13.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. The company has a market cap of $45.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.38.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 16.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Barclays will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.