5 Best European Bank Stocks to Buy Now

4. Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) 

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 11

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is a British bank with branches in about 55 countries and divisions spanning wealth management, corporate and investment banking as well as retail banking. As of the end of 2020, it is the fifth-largest bank in Europe by total assets. It is ranked fourth on our list of 10 best European bank stocks to buy now. The stock has returned over 79.76% to investors over the course of the past year.

On July 28, Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS)  posted earnings for the second quarter of 2021, reporting earnings per share of $0.68, beating estimates by $0.16. The net operating income over the period was around GBP 6.21 billion ($8.68 billion), up 67.2% year-over-year.

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 11 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $120 million in Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS), up from 10 the preceding quarter worth $80 million.

Out of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Balyasny Asset Management has the most valuable stake in Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) as of the end of the second quarter of 2021, worth close to $42 million, comprising 0.19% of its 13F portfolio. 

On July 29, Deutsche Bank boosted its price target on Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) to 240 GBp from 230 GBp while reiterating a Buy rating. On the same day, UBS also increased its price target on Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) to 220 GBp from 210 GBp while reiterating a Buy rating.