Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $15.39, but opened at $14.62. Barclays shares last traded at $14.68, with a volume of 3,607,854 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Barclays Trading Up 2.2 %

The company has a market cap of $53.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.88.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 17.83%. On average, analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Barclays Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.2737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27. Barclays’s payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Barclays in the fourth quarter valued at about $599,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Barclays in the third quarter valued at about $3,647,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the third quarter worth about $3,276,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth about $1,004,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barclays in the fourth quarter worth about $1,208,000. Institutional investors 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.