The Barclays (LSE: BARC) share price has been on a tear, rising 165% over five years and still blasting merrily along, with a 32% gain over the last 12 months. Today, that’s not particularly unusual for a FTSE 100 bank. Higher interest rates have generally been good for banks because they can earn more from the difference between what they charge borrowers and pay savers. <\/p>\n
Barclays’ UK net interest margin rose to 3.7% in the first half of 2026, from 3.55% a year earlier. It’s a key profitability metric. <\/p>\n
Investors expected interest rates to fall this year, which could have squeezed those margins, but the Iran war changed that. Nobody is expecting rate cuts today. They could even climb. <\/p>\n
High rates can be a double-edged sword though. They make borrowing more expensive, potentially weakening demand for mortgages and loans, and increasing bad debts. <\/p>\n
How risky is this FTSE 100 bank? <\/p>\n
In April, Barclays took a \u00a3228m hit after the collapse of UK mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions, amid allegations of fraud. This highlighted worries about its exposure to the shadow banking sector. <\/p>\n
Barclays retains a substantial operation in the US, both in corporate and investment banking. That gives it more opportunities to make money when markets are booming, but also exposes it to more volatile trading conditions and potentially bigger losses. It’s also looking to expand into the Middle East and Asia. <\/p>\n
Its Q2 (28 July) results were impressive. Income jumped 16% to \u00a38.3bn, beating expectations, while profit before tax surged 31% to \u00a33.3bn. The investment bank was the star performer. Yet the shares fell after the results because markets expected even better. <\/p>\n
There are risks down the road. The UK government could increase the banking sector’s windfall tax in the autumn Budget, hitting profits, while a weaker global economy could hit lending and increase bad debts. <\/p>\n
Yet Barclays looks reasonably valued to me at around 11.25 times earnings. The trailing dividend yield of 1.75% is less exciting, but Barclays intends to return most of its capital to shareholders through share buybacks. In total, it plans to distribute a thumping \u00a315bn between 2026 and 2028. <\/p>\n
So what do the experts think? <\/p>\n
The 18 analysts offering one-year share price forecasts produce a consensus target of 576p. That would be a 16.4% gain from today’s 495p. Add the forecast 3.1% dividend yield and the potential total return rises to 19.5%. That would turn \u00a34,999 into about \u00a35,974, which isn’t too shabby. These are forecasts, of course. Nothing is guaranteed <\/p>\n
Of 20 analysts giving ratings over the last three months, 13 call Barclays a Strong Buy and two more say Buy. None says Sell. <\/p>\n
The next year could be bumpy. But with strong profits, a modest valuation and hefty shareholder returns, I think Barclays is well worth considering today. I’d buy it myself. Unfortunately, I’m already massively exposed to the fortunes of FTSE 100 banks and they’ve rewarded me handsomely. <\/p>\n
Should you invest \u00a35,000 in Barclays Plc right now? <\/p>\n
When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets. <\/p>\n
And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Barclays Plc made the list? <\/p>\n
\u00a0See The Six Stocks <\/p>\n
Harvey Jones does not hold any positions in the companies mentioned. <\/p>\n
The post By August 2027 the Barclays share price and dividend could turn \u00a34,999 into\u2026<\/a> appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie<\/a>. <\/p>\n More reading <\/p>\n The Twelfth Magpie 2026 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Barclays (LSE: BARC) share price has been on a tear, rising 165% over five years and still…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[21264],"tags":[3343,13786,2103,5692,24660],"class_list":["post-110135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barclays","tag-barclays","tag-barclays-plc","tag-interest-rates","tag-share-price","tag-the-barclays"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117152365081428999","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}