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

Financial News Live · Apr 30, 2023 19:42

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,120,000 shares, an increase of 49.3% from the March 31st total of 5,440,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Barclays Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:BCS opened at $8.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.83. The stock has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.37. Barclays has a 1 year low of $5.89 and a 1 year high of $9.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.72, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Get Barclays alerts:

Barclays (NYSE:BCS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.13 billion. Barclays had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 20.97%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Barclays will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 24th were given a $0.104 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 6.4%. Barclays's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.01%.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Barclays by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 743,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,345,000 after purchasing an additional 107,000 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Barclays by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 15,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,734 shares during the period. First National Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 1st quarter valued at about $447,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barclays in the 1st quarter valued at about $161,000. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Barclays during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 3.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Barclays in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barclays currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.00.

Barclays Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Barclays Plc operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management services. The firm operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International segments. The Barclays UK segment consists the U.K. retail banking operations, U.K.