Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 317.14 ($4.05).

A number of research firms recently commented on BARC. Citigroup lifted their price target on Barclays from GBX 320 ($4.09) to GBX 350 ($4.47) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Barclays from GBX 370 ($4.73) to GBX 410 ($5.24) and gave the stock a “top pick” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 350 ($4.47) target price on shares of Barclays in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Barclays Stock Down 3.3 %

LON:BARC opened at GBX 245.55 ($3.14) on Friday. Barclays has a twelve month low of GBX 176.24 ($2.25) and a twelve month high of GBX 316 ($4.04). The firm has a market capitalization of £35.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 295.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 269.74.

Barclays (LON:BARC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported GBX 36 ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 6.97%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Barclays will post 39.1062802 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert Berry bought 3,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 294 ($3.76) per share, for a total transaction of £8,902.32 ($11,375.31). Also, insider C.S. Venkatakrishnan sold 185,862 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 292 ($3.73), for a total value of £542,717.04 ($693,479.48). Company insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Barclays Company Profile

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.