Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) short interest falls 37.8%

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the target of a large decline in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,920,000 shares, a decrease of 37.8% from the July 31st total of 6,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume of 11,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. About 0.1% of the company’s shares are short-sold.

Institutional inputs and outputs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barclays in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 71.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 51.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barclays in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. 3.39% of the shares are currently held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts set new price targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, May 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Check out the latest stock report on Barclays

Barclays share performance

BCS traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $11.95. The stock had a trading volume of 519,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,907,767. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.15, a quick ratio of 1.39, and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $44.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.32. Barclays has a 12 month low of $6.23 and a 12 month high of $12.49.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. Barclays had a net margin of 16.83% and a return on equity of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter. In the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Barclays will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barclays increases dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.2684 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Barclays’ previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16. Barclays’ dividend payout ratio is 21.64%.

About Barclays

(Get a free report)

Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The company operates through the divisional segments Barclays UK and Barclays International. It provides financial services such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services.

Further reading

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