Barclays (LON:BARC) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as GBX 312.70 ($4.00) and last traded at GBX 312.55 ($4.00), with a volume of 572268063 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 305.32 ($3.91).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BARC. Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Barclays in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Barclays from GBX 360 ($4.61) to GBX 370 ($4.73) and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 350 ($4.48) price objective on shares of Barclays in a report on Monday, February 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 305 ($3.90).

Barclays Stock Up 3.5 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 288.09 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 258.21. The stock has a market cap of £43.43 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36.

Barclays (LON:BARC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported GBX 36 ($0.46) EPS for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 6.97% and a net margin of 19.54%. As a group, research analysts predict that Barclays PLC will post 39.1062802 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anna Cross sold 40,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 270 ($3.45), for a total value of £108,531.90 ($138,840.86). Also, insider Robert Berry purchased 3,028 shares of Barclays stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 294 ($3.76) per share, for a total transaction of £8,902.32 ($11,388.41). 1.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.