Barclays (LON:BARC) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as GBX 377.90 ($5.12) and last traded at GBX 376.65 ($5.11), with a volume of 192370297 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 374.90 ($5.08).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 380 ($5.15) price objective on shares of Barclays in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Shore Capital boosted their target price on Barclays from GBX 395 ($5.35) to GBX 410 ($5.56) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup cut Barclays to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from GBX 360 ($4.88) to GBX 366 ($4.96) in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Barclays from GBX 355 ($4.81) to GBX 435 ($5.90) and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Barclays has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 400.20 ($5.42).

Barclays Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of £53.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of GBX 345.20 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 314.67.

Barclays (LON:BARC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported GBX 11.70 ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.97% and a net margin of 19.54%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Barclays PLC will post 39.1062802 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider C.S. Venkatakrishnan purchased 44,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 326 ($4.42) per share, with a total value of £145,272.12 ($196,899.05). Also, insider Brian Gilvary purchased 4,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 371 ($5.03) per share, for a total transaction of £17,214.40 ($23,332.07). Insiders have purchased 98,837 shares of company stock valued at $33,407,827 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

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.