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11/8/2021
12:06 | justalittlemore: Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in two days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Meaning, you will need to purchase Barclays' shares before the 12th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 17th of September.
The company's upcoming dividend is UK£0.02 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of UK£0.04 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Barclays has a trailing yield of 2.2% on the current stock price of £1.8266. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Barclays's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Barclays
Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Barclays paid out just 11% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances.
Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. It's encouraging to see Barclays has grown its earnings rapidly, up 32% a year for the past five years.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. It looks like the Barclays dividends are largely the same as they were 10 years ago.
The Bottom Line
Is Barclays worth buying for its dividend? Typically, companies that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings are keeping the profits for reinvestment in the business. This strategy can add significant value to shareholders over the long term - as long as it's done without issuing too many new shares. Overall, Barclays looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.
With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. We've identified 2 warning signs with Barclays (at least 1 which is concerning), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.
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10/8/2021
18:43 | justalittlemore: Should Barclays Acquire NatWest? This Analyst Thinks So
The Barclays share price has bounced back in the past few weeks after the company published strong quarterly results. The stock is trading at 185p, which is about 150% above its lowest level in 2020. On the other hand, the NatWest share price has jumped to the highest level since February 2020.
Should Barclays acquire NatWest?
In an opinion published on Monday, Matthey Lynn made several suggestions of potential mergers and acquisitions among UK businesses. His idea was that some large UK companies should not be left out in the ongoing merger mania that is targeting UK companies. Some of the recent companies that have been announced are of Meggitt and Morrisons.
In his piece, he suggested that Asos should acquire Burberry while Vodafone should buy BT. At the same time, he also suggested that Barclays should acquire NatWest, formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland. No deal has been announced so this article is based on hypotheticals.
First, let us look at the size. Barclays is a global bank with a market capitalization of more than 31.33 billion. The company has more than 83,500 employees. It makes money through its commercial and trading and investment arms. Barclays has more than 1.34 trillion in assets and about 15% of CET Tier 1 ratio.
NatWest, on the other hand, is a national bank with no major global presence. The firm is valued at more than 25 billion pounds and has more than 58,000 employees. It makes money mostly through consumer and business lending. It has more than 800 billion pounds in assets and a CET 1 Ratio of 18.5%. In terms of Revenue, NatWest made more than 14.25 billion in 2019 before the pandemic while Barclays made 21.6 billion pounds.
So, would that deal work? For one, big bank mergers in the UK are relatively rare. In the US, the biggest mergers have been among regional banks like when M&T decided to acquire People’s United while Webster acquired Sterling. Also, because of their sizes, the deal would be a merger of equals. It would also attract substantial regulatory scrutiny in the UK. However, with the government exiting its NatWest stake, there is a possibility that it would be allowed. The deal would create the 9th biggest bank globally by assets.
Barclays share price analysis
The daily chart shows that the BARC share price has been in an upward momentum. Along the way, it has moved above the important resistance at 170p. It has also risen above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages. The shares have returned to the horizontal channel shown in black.
Therefore, the stock will likely keep rising as bulls target the key resistance at 190p. However, a drop below 157p will invalidate this view.
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10/8/2021
18:42 | justalittlemore: The Barclays share price has bounced back in the past few weeks after the company published strong quarterly results. The stock is trading at 185p, which is about 150% above its lowest level in 2020. On the other hand, the NatWest share price has jumped to the highest level since February 2020.
Should Barclays acquire NatWest?
In an opinion published on Monday, Matthey Lynn made several suggestions of potential mergers and acquisitions among UK businesses. His idea was that some large UK companies should not be left out in the ongoing merger mania that is targeting UK companies. Some of the recent companies that have been announced are of Meggitt and Morrisons.
In his piece, he suggested that Asos should acquire Burberry while Vodafone should buy BT. At the same time, he also suggested that Barclays should acquire NatWest, formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland. No deal has been announced so this article is based on hypotheticals.
First, let us look at the size. Barclays is a global bank with a market capitalization of more than 31.33 billion. The company has more than 83,500 employees. It makes money through its commercial and trading and investment arms. Barclays has more than 1.34 trillion in assets and about 15% of CET Tier 1 ratio.
NatWest, on the other hand, is a national bank with no major global presence. The firm is valued at more than 25 billion pounds and has more than 58,000 employees. It makes money mostly through consumer and business lending. It has more than 800 billion pounds in assets and a CET 1 Ratio of 18.5%. In terms of Revenue, NatWest made more than 14.25 billion in 2019 before the pandemic while Barclays made 21.6 billion pounds.
So, would that deal work? For one, big bank mergers in the UK are relatively rare. In the US, the biggest mergers have been among regional banks like when M&T decided to acquire People’s United while Webster acquired Sterling. Also, because of their sizes, the deal would be a merger of equals. It would also attract substantial regulatory scrutiny in the UK. However, with the government exiting its NatWest stake, there is a possibility that it would be allowed. The deal would create the 9th biggest bank globally by assets.
Barclays share price analysis
The daily chart shows that the BARC share price has been in an upward momentum. Along the way, it has moved above the important resistance at 170p. It has also risen above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages. The shares have returned to the horizontal channel shown in black.
Therefore, the stock will likely keep rising as bulls target the key resistance at 190p. However, a drop below 157p will invalidate this view.
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29/7/2021
11:39 | justalittlemore: Comment: Barclays beats forecasts, but won’t quite get triple cheers
Two and half cheers for Barclays, but not a resounding three huzzas, writes Nick Goodway.
Two and a half cheers for Barclays as it comfortably beat City forecasts with trebled first half profits on a scale we haven’t seen for a couple of years.
Barclays seems to be firing on all cylinders both as a UK retail bank, an international bank and an investment bank.
Two things particularly catch the eye. The £742 million release of bad debt provisions reflecting what at one time the bank assumed would be lending it had to write-off because of the pandemic is much higher than many people dared to hope.
The fact that investment banking fees are up 36% not on last year’s levels but on 2019’s is a clear demonstration that Barclays is not only benefiting from the current addiction to takeovers and flotations but is also winning market share from its rivals.
Deutsche Bank today and US rivals this week have all reported a dip in second quarter investment banking income.
So why not the final half a cheer to give Barclays a resounding three huzzas?
All shareholders will welcome the return to the dividend list. And, going by what the banks says, a 2p dividend now followed by a 4p final dividend at the end of the year would mean the shares are on a respectable prospective yield of 3.4%. You won’t find that kind of return on any of Barclays own savings accounts.
But 2p is against 2.5p paid in the first half of 2019 when the total dividend came to 6.5p. And before the pandemic and the Bank of England put the brakes on bank dividends the 2020 interim pay-out was 3p a share implying a full year dividend of 9p. That’s 50% more than this year’s likely outcome.
Private investors in particular have been starved of income from shares for the past 18 months.
They should have been given a special one-off dividend rather than the £500 million share buyback announced today.
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28/7/2021
21:24 | stonedyou: Barclays' profits soar to £3.8bn after improved economic outcome allows it to release £742m from huge bad loan war chest
Barclays earned record income from its investment banking and equities arms.
The firm had reserved c.£3.7bn in impairment charges in the first half of 2020.
Shareholders will be rewarded with a 2p per share interim dividend payment.
Barclays saw its profits rise six-fold in the first half of the year after releasing hundreds of millions of pounds that it had set aside for potential losses on loans due to pandemic-hit finances.
Record income from its investment banking and equities divisions also helped the lending giant's attributable profits balloon to £3.8billion compared to the £695million it made during the same period last year.
The financial services firm has released £742million in credit impairments following a better economic outlook, reduced unsecured lending balances and a 'benign credit environment.'
It had held in reserve more than £3.7billion in impairment charges in the first half of 2020 in anticipation of more loan defaults, job losses and weaker economic forecasts caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Following demands from the Bank of England, it did not pay an interim dividend. But now that the banking regulator has relaxed restrictions, the bank will now reward investors with a 2p per share payment.
Investors will further benefit through a £500million share buyback programme by Barclays, which already completed a £700million share purchase in April.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-9833993/Barclays-profits-soar-3-8bn-releases-742m-bad-loan-provisions.html
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28/7/2021
21:21 | stonedyou: Dividend back at Barclays.
Barclays smashed City forecasts by quadrupling first-half profits to £5 billion after reporting a “resurgence” of activity across its businesses and a benign credit environment.
Britain’s third-biggest bank reinstated an interim dividend at 2p and announced another £500 million buyback programme.
The upbeat results statement included the release of £742 million of cash previously set aside in anticipation of borrower defaults. That represented a massive swing from 12 months ago when the bank made a £3.7 billion provision for bad debts.
Jes Staley, chief executive, said: “This has been a strong first half, clearly demonstrating the benefits of our resilient and diversified universal bank in supporting the growth of capital markets, our corporate clients and retail customers.”
Barclays UK, the investment banking division and the
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dividend-back-at-barclays-c7mpj07j5
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28/7/2021
15:38 | justalittlemore: Barclays has increased the size of its banker bonus pool by more than a third to almost £1.1bn after a rebound in profits, amid an improving economic outlook as pandemic restrictions recede.
Setting out the details of the bonus pool in a half-year update to the London Stock Exchange, the bank said it had ringfenced the cash to compensate its star bankers next spring when payouts are usually made. It means Barclays employees have another six months to build up their final bonus pot for the year, which is likely to come in higher than the £1.6bn paid out for the whole of 2020 when the UK was gripped by the Covid pandemic.
For the first six months of 2021, the bank set aside almost £1.1bn for its bonus pool, up from £785m a year earlier. The final bonus pool will also cover payouts for executives, including the chief executive, Jes Staley, who was given a £843,000 bonus last year.
Staley said the bank was being “prudent”; in the way it handled bonuses because it linked payouts to the bank’s profitability.
Referring to the performance of Barclays’ investment banking division where its income from fees surged 27% to £1.7bn in the first six months of the year, he said: “Our comp[ensation] to income ratio is one of the lowest in the industry, so we think we’re being prudent in how we are managing that variable compensation.”
The planned payouts follow a strong second quarter overall, with Barclays’ pre-tax profits rising to £2.6bn over the three months to the end of June, up from £359m a year earlier. It also beat consensus forecasts for £1.7bn in profits for the period.
The bank benefited from an improving economic outlook after the lifting of most UK Covid restrictions, which meant it was able to release £1bn in bad debt provisions that it had put aside to cover potential defaults related to the pandemic. Barclays, which was forced to put aside £1.6bn during the same period last year, had been expected by City analysts to release £55m.
Despite the improvement in the economy over recent months, the bank warned “the outlook remains uncertain and subject to change depending on the evolution and persistence of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
However, the bank still announced plans to buy back up to £500m of shares from its investors, while also paying a half-year dividend of 2p a share. It means shareholders who were blocked from receiving payouts for most of 2020 because of Bank of England Covid restrictions are now in line for more than £800m. Threadneedle Street had ordered banks not to pay any cash bonuses to senior bankers and to suspend dividend payments last year due to the role banks play in supporting the British economy.
“Our profitability, strong capital position and balance sheet have enabled us to increase capital distributions to shareholders,” Staley said.
Barclays shares were up 3.7% at 175p in early morning trading.
The lender’s corporate and investment banking arm also contributed to rising profits performance, with the division reporting a 52% rise in profits to £1.6bn in the second quarter, thanks in part to a rise in merger and takeover activity. That was despite a 10% drop in income over the same period, as trading returned to normal levels after volatile period in markets last year.
The rival investment banks JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs reported bumper second-quarter profits this month, thanks to a surge in merger and acquisitions activity, which broke records for the second straight quarter in the three months to June, according to Refinitiv data.
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07/7/2021
15:47 | drylatt: https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/954359/uk-banks-get-hiked-ahead-of-sector-s-dividend--freedom-day--954359.html
UK banks get hiked ahead of sector's dividend 'Freedom Day'
Some analysts think banks will wait until the year-end to declare special dividends
Dividend forecasts and price targets for several FTSE 350 banks have been hiked by Goldman Sachs, UBS and other analysts ahead of what should be an eventful few weeks for the sector.
The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority is expected to lift its cap on bank dividends next week, with the European Central Bank doing the same the week after, opening the way for the sector’s own ‘Freedom Day’ to make payouts to shareholders in the third and fourth quarters respectively.
“We expect the PRA to eliminate dividend curbs on 13 July, paving the way for significant capital returns,” said UBS after upgrading earnings per share estimates for UK banks under its coverage by around 5%, largely driven by lower loan loss predictions.
With the banking sector’s earnings season coming up at the end of July, several brokers were rejigging their forecasts and share price targets.
UBS nudged up its price targets for Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) to 210p from 200p, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) to 54p from 51p, and NatWest Group PLC (LON:NWG) to 214p from 205p, but cut Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) to 490p from 530p.
UBS said Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) remained its ‘top pick’ among the big lenders and Virgin Money UK PLC (LON:VMUK) among the challenger banks.
Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, hiked its price target for NatWest to 315p from 310p and HSBC PLC (LON:HSBA) to 600p from 585p.
After a new analysis of capital levels, Citigroup suggested mid-caps OSB Group PLC (LON:OSB) and Close Brothers Group (LON:CBG) have the potential to increase investor pay-outs.
For Berenberg, Barclays was the highlight, with strengthening economic outlook continues to creating more favourable conditions for the blue-eagle bank both in the UK and the US, with its investment bank arm appearing to be gaining further market share and potential for further clarity from management over cost reduction plans.
Growing piles of excess capital
Second-quarter results are likely to show strength in earnings driven by trading income and loan losses, the UBS analysts said, expecting confirmation of “the start of a strong recovery in activity levels”.
Stabilising credit card balances and strong growth in vehicle finance should be a net positive and, while mortgage spreads are under pressure strong volumes should have completely offset that.
With provisions for bad assets negligible UBS said this “[raises] the probability that UK lenders will find themselves materially overprovided against non-defaulted loans” once the PRA has confirmed the sector’s own ‘Freedom Day’.
“By the time results are declared, we expect the UK regulator to have put bank boards again in charge of capital distributions,” UBS analyst Jason Napier wrote.
“But our forecasts do not assume special dividends or buybacks at 2Q results.
“Though all banks under coverage could afford excess capital distributions, we assume that substantial payouts will wait for FY21 announcements, pending a reduction in mobility restrictions, increased vaccination coverage, an end to furloughs, substantial start to Bounce Back Loan repayments, stress test results and full year audit processes.”
However, just knowing that banks are able, should they wish, to pay out a growing pile of excess capital that stood variously at 6-27% of market cap at the end of the first quarter “should generate broader appeal for the shares, we think”.
Napier and co also reckon UK domestic banks are 14% cheaper on a p/e basis than the Eurobanks, which themselves are 45% cheap to the market.
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17/6/2021
08:17 | prbshares: bigman786 : heres a snippet of info relative to 2019/20 :
In order to help Barclays serve the needs of businesses and households through the extraordinary challenges presented by COVID-19, the Board decided that for 2020 the Company would not undertake any interim ordinary share dividend payments, accrual of ordinary share dividends, or share buybacks.
In addition, in response to a request from the UK Prudential Regulation Authority and to preserve additional capital for use in serving Barclays’ customers and clients, the Board agreed to cancel the 6.0p per ordinary share full year 2019 dividend that was due for payment on 3 April 2020.
The question now has to be asked following the rapid buyback performed by Barclays earlier this year 2021, are they now about to reward the shareholders with an interim divi ? FWIW, barc has the funds to do so with little impact and being that the bank has been profiting considerably over this period my 'hunch' is that we could see a step in the right direction. Aimo but fingers crossed !
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02/6/2021
09:14 | justalittlemore: Are Barclays shares now primed for real growth?
The bank’s share price is flirting with its trigger level, and the party could be about to start.
The bank’s share price is flirting with its trigger level, and the party could be about to start.
When we reviewed Barclays
BARC
0.40%
three weeks ago, we were breathlessly enthusiastic as to the share price prospects if it would only exceed 191p.
Presently trading around 183p, a visit to our trigger level was studiously avoided. The trigger level for movement has melted downward, now standing at 188p.
Our software claims movements above 188p should now provoke price recovery to an initial 201p with secondary, if exceeded, calculating at 210p.
A glance at the chart below reveals both ambitions take the share price solidly into a region where an iota above 210p can expect longer-term price recovery toward 290p eventually.
We can all hope something will get the party started. Our own preference shall be the market opting to ‘gap’ the share price upward at the open anytime soon, ideally by around 10p above current levels. This will certainly broadcast a strong suggestion a recovery cycle is commencing, one where our big picture ambitions shall start to make sense.
One little puzzle has been the recent news that Barclays introduced restrictions on clients’ ability to transfer money to the leading cryptocurrency exchanges.
ii view: diversification sets Barclays apart from the rest
Barclays bears focus on negatives in Q1 numbers
Why reading charts can help you become a better investor
Our curiosity is awakened, as we cannot see how the bank intends to make money from this manoeuvre. Unless we're about to see cryptocurrency exchanges run by the banks in the UK, perhaps intended to produce a respectable way of trading bitcoin etc, allowing the current restrictions to be lifted.
Despite the PR headlines saying the banks have introduced this restriction to protect their clients’ money, we're more than a little suspicious as to Barclays’ real motives, as banks’ own bottom lines generally provide the driving force for decisions.
If everything intends to go wrong for Barclays share price, it looks like falling below 169p shall prove troublesome, allowing the potential of weakness to an initial 150p.
If broken, our longer-term secondary calculates at 129p. Nothing is currently pointing in this direction. Hopefully Boris Johnson doesn't award the nation with another lockdown!I
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PLUS1
