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

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,990,000 shares, an increase of 49.8% from the June 30th total of 4,000,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BCS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, May 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Barclays Stock Down 0.3 %

BCS stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $11.94. 8,677,760 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,045,749. Barclays has a 52 week low of $6.23 and a 52 week high of $12.11. The company has a market cap of $44.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.15.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. Barclays had a net margin of 17.21% and a return on equity of 6.13%. The company had revenue of $8.82 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Barclays will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Barclays

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCS. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC grew its holdings in Barclays by 14.8% during the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 1,069,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,111,000 after buying an additional 138,064 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $81,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Barclays by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 188,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 95,474 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Barclays by 335.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 361,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,847,000 after purchasing an additional 278,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in Barclays by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 342,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,701,000 after purchasing an additional 119,920 shares in the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.