Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) Short Interest Up 6.5% in October

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,030,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the October 15th total of 5,660,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 12,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barclays

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Barclays by 1,362.1% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 19,682,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $210,762,000 after buying an additional 18,335,937 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Barclays by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,432,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,149,000 after purchasing an additional 667,498 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Barclays during the third quarter worth about $52,335,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Barclays by 11.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,007,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,690,000 after buying an additional 426,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Barclays by 190.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,661,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,210,000 after buying an additional 2,402,500 shares in the last quarter. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barclays Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of BCS traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.09. 4,824,380 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,356,210. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.69. Barclays has a 12-month low of $7.02 and a 12-month high of $13.57. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.41.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Barclays will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BCS. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Barclays in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Barclays in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Barclays from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

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.

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