Asia tech stocks slide tracking Wall St losses amid AI doubts, govt. uncertainty
Investing.com - Citi has downgraded Barclays Plc (LON:BARC) (NYSE:BCS) from Buy to Neutral while slightly raising its price target to GBP3.66 from GBP3.60.
The downgrade comes as Citi forecasts Barclays’ second-quarter 2025 adjusted profit before tax at £2.3 billion, approximately 1% below consensus estimates. The bank expects in-line revenues, 2% lower costs, and 14% higher impairments, primarily driven by the U.S. consumer division.
By division, Citi projects above-consensus performance for Barclays’ Investment Bank (3% higher), broadly in-line results for the UK operations, but significantly weaker performance in U.S. Consumer, where projections are 44% below consensus.
The research firm anticipates a CET1 ratio of 13.6%, representing a 30 basis point quarterly decline and 40 basis points below consensus, attributed to an assumed full deduction for the newly announced £1 billion share buyback program. Citi also expects a quarterly dividend of 3.2 pence per share, in line with market expectations.
Following recent share price appreciation, Citi believes the risk-reward profile for Barclays is now more balanced and sees limited near-term catalysts for further stock re-rating, prompting the downgrade despite the slight price target increase.
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