BNP Paribas Upgrades Barclays (NYSE:BCS) to “Outperform”

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) was upgraded by stock analysts at BNP Paribas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Barclays Price Performance

NYSE:BCS traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.54. 22,319,691 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,894,498. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33. The stock has a market cap of $56.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.45, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.41. Barclays has a 12 month low of $8.63 and a 12 month high of $16.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.39 and a 200 day moving average of $13.23.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 7.74%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Barclays will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

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