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

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) announced a semi-annual dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date 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% annually over the last three years. Barclays has a payout ratio of 12.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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

BCS stock opened at $14.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. Barclays has a twelve month low of $7.24 and a twelve month high of $15.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.90 and its 200-day moving average is $12.86. The company has a market cap of $53.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.