Barclays got the earnings seasons for the UK’s big four banks off to a bright start said analysts, with the likely outcome to be upgrades when all the numbers have been crunched.
Jefferies said there was little to quibble about. Profits were around 23% ahead of forecasts with the strong performance of the investment bank a pleasant surprise though most of Barclays' metrics were ahead of consensus forecasts.
'Buy' with a price target of 300p, 95% upside, remains the US bank’s view.
Shore Cap, too, has a target price of 300p and said Barclays remains one of the most undervalued of the UK banks.
Costs overrunning a little and higher bad debts in the US were the only points of concern in the first quarter, it added
For the full year, Shore Cap forecasts profits of £7.81bn, though the broker says It would not be a surprise if those numbers get nudged higher during the year.
Next up is NatWest (tomorrow) though without the investment bank interest of Barclays it will be a much more domestic affair and likely to be dominated by mortgages, savings rates, net interest margins and buybacks.