An investor that put £ 20,000 in Barclays shares at the beginning of this year would already …

Barclays (LSE: BARC) The actions are living the dream at this time. After a 2024 scorching, they started the new year in style.

It has been a great change, after years when Ftse 100 Banking stocks were a bit heavy. While seeming cheap, investors needed patience bags while waiting for shares to return to life. Spring arrived suddenly last February.

The price of Barclays shares has increased 85% in the last year. While it was a good year for the FTSE 100 in general, the index increased a relatively modest 17%.

The superior performance of Barclays underlines the possible advantages of buying individual actions on the follow -up indices. However, it helps choose the right actions.

Can this FTSE Bank continue breaking it?

If someone had decided that Barclays still had room to grow after last year and invested £ 20,000 at the beginning of 2025, today they would be sitting enough.

The shares rose 16.85% to date, which would have increased £ 20k ​​to £ 23,370. Pretty impressive in such a short time, if you ask me.

However, no one should judge the performance of any action in such a short period of time. The real investment advantages are observed for years and decades, as the growth of the shares and the reinvest dividends are aggravated and grow over time.

So, can Barclays maintain his impulse?

On February 13, he reported a fairly practical increase of 24% in 2024 profits before taxes at £ 8.1 billion, which slightly exceeded expectations. This allowed Barclays to announce generous shareholders rewards, including a shares of shares of £ 1 billion.

Interestingly, the shares fell 6% in the day, since investors lamented a lack of profit improvements. What a group!

Barclays's investment bank division has been a significant taxsence to profitability, with a total income that rises 7% to £ 11.8 billion. The decision to hold on to that after the financial crisis is now justified.

The analyst's feeling is still positive, but barely ecstatic. The 17 analysts who offer pricing prices of one -year shares have produced an average objective of just over 347p. If it is correct, that is an increase of around 11.5% as of today.

While this suggests continuous growth, it is a more modest perspective compared to recent performance.

The recent growth of the prices of stellar actions has impacted the dividend. The final yield is now a modest 2.7%, with forecasts that suggest a 3% increase this year.

However, this dividend is expected to be covered 4.6 times by profits, giving margin for greater generosity. And Barclays seems ready to deliver.

Shareholders rewards in the pipeline

The Board plans to return at least 10 billion to the shareholders between 2024 and 2026, through dividends and repurchases of shares, with a continuous preference for the latter.

Despite these positive indicators, potential investors must take into account several risks. A deceleration of the United Kingdom and the global economy could reduce the demand for loans and increase non -compliance rates. Commercial tensions could affect Barclays international operations, while interest rate cuts can compress net interest margins, affecting profitability.

stock market volatility could benefit Barclays commercial operations, but also introduces unpredictability.

Despite its strong performance, the Barclays stock still seems highly valued. The ratio to profits (p/e) is only 8.65, and the price to book (p/b) ratio is only 0.6.

This suggests that you have more scope for recovery. It is worth considering the actions of Barclays, in my opinion. Although at some point, they have to calm down a little.