Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,030,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the October 15th total of 5,660,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BCS. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Barclays in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on Barclays in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Barclays Price Performance

Shares of Barclays stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.09. The stock had a trading volume of 4,824,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,356,210. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.69. Barclays has a fifty-two week low of $7.02 and a fifty-two week high of $13.57. The firm has a market cap of $47.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 17.83%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Barclays will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCS. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Barclays by 1,362.1% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 19,682,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,762,000 after buying an additional 18,335,937 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 11.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,432,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,149,000 after purchasing an additional 667,498 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Barclays in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,335,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Barclays by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,007,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,690,000 after buying an additional 426,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barclays by 190.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,661,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,210,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,500 shares in the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.