As a boring large cap-focused investor, I often look at the medium-term. I certainly bought a few Barclays (BARC) shares too early in 2017-18, but it did give me the rationale to double my holding during some dog days last year. But fundamentally it has told me for a while to take my profits and run when the share materially breaks the 2 quid plus level.
Back in April I observed that at the time it was ‘getting closer to my two quid and out share price target on Barclays (BARC)’. Well that was true at the time...and sort of still true today even if the shares today are slightly lower than it was a few months ago. There are a few reasons for that.
It is an interesting Friday at many levels, but less about some of the early results in the various elections around the UK (where folks appear to have taken my advice on how to vote!)...and more about the markets.
It is the final business day of April and from the perspective of stocks I own, there is some good and some less good news. Let’s start with a small positive at Headlam (HEAD) the ‘Europe’s leading floorcoverings distributor’ which I have loved up for a while and last month, here, discussed ‘the rationale to get back to a 500p plus share price’. This morning I noted the company announced ‘it has entered into an agreement to dispose of its wholly-owned Swiss business, Belcolor AG to the management team of Belcolor...As a result of the disposal, Headlam will realise approximately £12.0 million'. Given the company’s near £400 million market cap, it is not a massive deal but a sensible one, as the key focus for the business is the evolving UK business. It is also nice to add a little bit more cash too. In short - along with the two readers who kindly commented on the article above last month - for me it continues to be a good core position.
Unsurprisingly Barclays (BARC) shares have performed rather well over the last year...although unsurprisingly they are still only about a third of the early 2007 level. Still - in recent times - I bought a few and, as I discussed here, a couple of months ago ‘I believe the next year will see a closer to 200 pence share price’.
Hello Share Fans. I dread to think how much I’ve lost by putting faith in British banks, both during the big crash of 2008 and afterwards. One of this family’s biggest losers is Barclays (BARC). But are things at last bucking up? The shares are currently a lowly just over 150p. Our last purchase was 200p...
We the start of UK banking sector results with the comments from Barclays (BARC) today. Yes, I have been an owner for a while and my musings here in October look inspired as we have seen a pleasant 40% share price rise over the last four months. Timing matters.
You need to be an optimist to both run a bank or to invest in one. Today's third quarter update from Barclays (BARC) was accompanied by a clarion call from the company's CEO (on a financial TV channel I happened to be watching) that the sector is going to play an ever-increasing role in any recovery and that - this crisis around - financial companies are 'not the bad guys'.
I am sure we all think that the bank we bank with is useless. But changing banks is such a pain in the arse. I’ve experienced it firsthand. Direct debits go awry, auto payments on your card bounce, you have to remember a new PIN, and so we don’t bother. But boy, Barclays (BARC) in the Isle of Man is in a class of its own for being useless.
It is all a bit half speed today with the UK (and European markets) closed but there were a couple of stories that caught my attention. A couple of weeks ago I told Edward Bramson - who has taken an activist position towards Barclays (BARC) via his Sherborne Investors vehicle, to take a chill pill.
I have been a medium-term supporter of Barclays (BARC) shares, noting a couple of months ago that I thought the stock - with all the necessary caveats about the banking space - was cheap at around x0.6 tangible book and that the route to a higher share price may be if it 'pays a bit of respect to the activist on its shareholder books who is talking an interesting game about value creation'. It is the activist angle - and not another Barclays story (a judge discharging the jury in the trial of four former executives over the 2008 controversial global financial crisis Qatari fundraising) - that I turn back to today…
Despite a series of strong earnings announcements, it’s been a disappointing few months for holders of London-listed bank shares. Tip activity spiked in the banking sector this week, spurred on by third quarter results announced by Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) and Barclays (BARC) in recent days. This week, we take a look at recent tip activity in the sector, and see how tipster sentiment towards banking firms currently differs from brokers.
