Barclays PLC (BCS) to Issue Semi-annual Dividend of $0.27 on April 4th

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) declared a semi-annual dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.2737 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, April 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Barclays’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.27.

Barclays has raised its dividend by an average of 36.1% per year over the last three years. Barclays has a payout ratio of 12.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Barclays to earn $1.74 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.31 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.8%.

Barclays Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE BCS opened at $14.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.86. Barclays has a one year low of $7.24 and a one year high of $15.43. The firm has a market cap of $53.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.15. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 17.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Barclays will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.