Short Interest in Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Rises By 49.8%

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) saw a significant 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. Based on an average daily volume of 12,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Barclays Trading Down 0.5 %

BCS traded down $0.06 during trading on Monday, hitting $11.92. 5,829,622 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,023,485. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.15, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.15 and a 200 day moving average of $9.69. Barclays has a 12-month low of $6.23 and a 12-month high of $12.11.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.82 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Barclays will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Barclays in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 71.8% during the 1st 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 holdings in shares of Barclays by 51.7% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Barclays by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 3.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, May 9th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barclays currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

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.