London-based universal bank Barclays PLC (GB:BARC) (NYSE:BCS) has agreed to settle charges related to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claim for over-issuance of securities. The charges include $200 million toward civil penalty and $161 million toward disgorgement and prejudgment interest.
Both Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC are to bear the charges, with the bank paying toward the interest penalty. The charges are related to a May 2017 event when Barclays Bank had offered and sold roughly $17.7 billion of securities in unregistered actions owing to a lack of internal control.
The bank was unable to accurately quantify the total number of securities to be offered, sold, and pay registration fees on them, as per the SEC requirement. A difference between the securities registered and actually sold led to their over-issuance.
Is Barclays Stock a Buy?
On TipRanks, BARC stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating. This is based on six Buys versus four Holds. The average Barclays PLC price target of 226.88p implies 55.2% upside potential to current levels. Meanwhile, BARC stock has lost 23.7% so far this year.
