Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Plans Semi-annual Dividend of $0.27

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

Barclays has increased its dividend payment 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. 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 Performance

Shares of BCS traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.50. 3,973,815 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,930,308. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. Barclays has a fifty-two week low of $8.18 and a fifty-two week high of $15.55. The business's 50 day moving average is $13.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.41.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Barclays will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barclays from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report 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.