BARCLAYS

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Once touted as the only company ‘fluent in finance’, Barclays plc has grown to become one of the most powerful companies, not only in its field but in the entire world. Barclays was founded on 17th November 1690, by John Freame and Thomas Gould, who were operating a goldsmith business in Lombard Street, London. They were later joined by James Barclay, a businessman, in 1736 and his name has stuck to this date. Barclays is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and its longevity in the wake of multiple financial crises, world wars, industrial revolutions, and even technological advancement, is a testament to their solid philosophy of innovation in line with their stated purpose of ‘creating opportunities to rise’. Barclays was the first UK bank to launch cash dispensers in 1967, and in 1977 it also became the first to introduce personal bankers. In 1987, it introduced UK’s first debit bank. Barclays held its IPO on November 1st, 1953 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the Premium Equity Commercial Companies category. At LSE, it trades under the ticker symbol BARC, and it is also part of the major FTSE indices (FTSE 100, FTSE 350, FTSE Eurotop 100 Index and FTSE Eurotop 300).

The company is also cross-listed on the New York Stock Exchange, where it falls under the Financial Services industry, and trades under the ticker symbol BCS. Barclays is a transatlantic banking group that operates in two segments: Barclays UK and Barclays International; and offers products in 4 categories: Retail banking, Commercial Banking, Investment Banking and Wealth Management. Retail banking has mainly been the most profitable sector for Barclays, but the bank also focuses on investment banking, which is seeing continuous growth. Barclays has always sought to maintain an active portfolio, and over the years, the bank has been engaged in acquisitions and divestitures. Its most notable buys include Nile Bank, Standard Life, Oakes Millers, First Assurance and the core business of the defunct Lehman Brothers.

Barclays Stock History

As of January 2019, Barclays has had 3 stock splits:

• 7-for-5 in June 1990;
• 4-for-1 in May 2002;
• and finally, 1085-for-1000 in September 2013.

As of December 2018, Barclays stock was trading at circa £150 per share, with a market capitalisation of £25.8 billion. As a highly influential player in the financial scene, Barclays has always seen its stock mirror the economic cycles of boom and bust. The stock had its most impressive multi-year rally from the mid-1990s that topped out at an all-time high of £790 per share on February 2007, just shortly before the global financial crisis. It tumbled quickly after that to an all-time low of £64 per share by March 2009. It attempted a recovery after that, which was capped at below £400 per share on October 2009, and it has never broken that psychological price barrier since then. As of December 2018, the stock price is trapped in a range of between £130 and £330.

Despite operating in an uncertain and dynamic business environment, Barclays has been a regular dividend payer. As of January 2019, the company is paying semi-annual dividends, but it has always adjusted its payout timetable according to the business environment or profit margins. Since 2000, Barclays has averaged a dividend yield of 3.36%, with the highest ever dividend yield standing out at 10.95% in 2007, and the lowest ever yield at 0.33% in 2009. Over the long term, Barclays maintains that it seeks to pay out a significant portion of its earnings in dividends to shareholders. This effectively makes the Barclays stock a great pick for investors who value income.

How to Trade Barclays Stock?

Here are the factors investors should consider before trading Barclays shares:

• Tariffs and Trade Agreements
  As a transatlantic bank, Barclays is exposed to various tariffs and trade agreements that may take place between different jurisdictions. As well, Barclays has a strong presence in both the UK and US. As of January 2019, the US was in the middle of renegotiating its trade deals, with a strong focus on protectionism, advanced by President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ rhetoric. In the UK, Barclays faced a different monster altogether: Brexit, which was expected to take place in March 2019. With Brexit negotiations characterised by hard lining, the prospects of a ‘No-deal’ were higher than ever, and this would mean a potential slowdown in the UK’s economy – a situation that would pressure Barclays share prices lower.
• Introduction of Disruptive Technologies
  Since 2009, the emergence of disruptive technology, such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies, posed a significant existential threat to banks and the banking industry. Banks have, for years, served as trusted third parties between transacting parties, but cryptocurrencies eliminated the need for them by facilitating cheap, instant and secure peer-to-peer transactions. Their popularity led to the emergence of a whole new industry, with new businesses, such as crypto exchanges and mining firms. If other disruptive technologies emerge, this could negatively impact banks and the pressure on bank stocks could be too heavy to handle.
• Legislation or Taxation Policy
  As a bank with global operations, Barclays remains vulnerable to changes in legislation or taxation policies in different jurisdictions. Traditionally, bank legislation, or broadly regulation, has always been reactive rather than proactive. Regulatory changes have always been done in response to the state of the economy, and sometimes, they have been politically instigated. This poses a big spontaneous risk to banks such as Barclays.
• Competitor Performance
  Banking is a cut-throat industry driven hugely by customer perception. A weak performance compared to a competitor can inspire both investor and customer flight. It is important to assess how competitors are performing, and whether they are gaining or losing ground against Barclays.
• Periodical Earnings Reports
  Barclays fiscal year runs from January to December, and the company releases quarterly reports that serve as a barometer for its performance. Shareholders are updated on the business health of the bank and how the different reporting segments are performing. It is important to track the release of these reports because earnings remain one of the biggest catalysts of price movement of the underlying stock.

When studying these factors, it is prudent to determine their potential short to medium term impact on the stock, because over the long run, most factors are usually discounted on the prevailing price.

AvaTrade Barclays Stock Trading Information

• MT4 Symbol: _BARCLAYS
• Trading Hours: Monday – Friday 08:00 – 16:29 London Time GMT
• Country: UK
• Currency: GBP Penny
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Leverage: up to
• Minimum Trade Size: 100

Why Trade Barclays Stock with AvaTrade?

• International Regulation
  AvaTrade has a regulatory licence across five continents and is in the process of expanding even further.
• A Wealth of Trading Instruments:
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• Leveraged trading –
  AvaTrade offers leverage on CFDs, which gives investors the chance to maximise their profits even with a low capital outlay.
• Education center
  Direct access to global equity markets. Alongside Barclays stock, there are many other stock CFDs and other assets such as forex, commodities and cryptocurrencies, from all the major world exchanges available to trade on the AvaTrade platforms.
• The AvaTrade trading platform suits both short- and long-term trading styles.
  Traders can also choose to trade on desktop or mobile, for convenience and flexibility. They can also trade on a variety of trading platforms, such as the highly popular MT4 trading platform, AvaTradeApp app, AvaSocial social trading system and the exclusive Vanilla Options app – AvaOptions.

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Barclays Stock FAQ

• Why should I trade Barclays shares?

  Well you’re not going to find many banks with a history that goes back as far as that of Barclays. In fact you won’t find many companies at all. Barclays was started in 1690 and has grown to be one of the world’s premier banking and financial services institutions. That certainly doesn’t mean you need to trade Barclays shares, but looking at the price action shows good setups for the stock. You can likely find some good trades which will make it worthwhile to keep an eye on Barclays stock as part of your trading routine.

   
• Is Barclays the best financial services stock for trading?

  There are so many financial services stocks you can trade, both large and smaller banks, that it is impossible to say which is best. Barclays is a good stock for trading however, with plenty of interest from other traders and institutions, along with lots of liquidity and enough volatility to keep even scalpers and day traders happy. It has also seen a good trend line develop in the past years and could be a suitable choice for swing traders looking for a longer-term trading opportunity.

   
• What’s the best strategy for trading Barclays shares?

  As mentioned above Barclays has seen a nice trend line develop and for that reason we believe that trading based on the basic support and resistance levels created by that trend line can offer up some excellent trading opportunities. Simply wait for price to return to these support and resistance levels and then trade as price bounces from them. If price breaks through traders can either look for confirmation of a breakout move and take advantage, or look for price to rebound strongly after becoming overbought or oversold.