Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Short Interest Update

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,800,000 shares, a growth of 32.7% from the January 31st total of 8,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Barclays Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE BCS traded up $0.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.21. The stock had a trading volume of 20,728,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,283,625. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.25. Barclays has a 12 month low of $8.77 and a 12 month high of $16.27. The company has a market capitalization of $58.43 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.41.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 7.74%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.2737 per share. This is a positive change from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. This represents a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Barclays’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Barclays from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Barclays by 135.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

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.