Barclays Kept at Buy as Berenberg Notes 'Clarity' from New Absolute Cost Targets

06:59 AM EDT, 10/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg maintained its buy rating on Barclays (BARC.L), with an unchanged price target of 6.20 pounds sterling, as analysts took note of the bank's new absolute cost targets. "Management's commitment on absolute cost targets is welcome and provides clarity by narrowing the range of outcomes and ensuring expanding operating leverage in outer years. As such, we remain confident that the bank's RoTE can continue to rise and exceed 15% by FY28. We believe the shares fail to capture this improvement, trading on c1x TNAV and offering a 9-10% total yield," the research firm wrote in a Friday note. Alongside its third-quarter results published Thursday, Barclays said it expects group total costs at 18.5 billion pounds sterling in 2026, and 18.4 billion pounds in 2027. "This implies a cost/income ratio of c56%, on our estimates, with sequential improvement expected for FY28, bringing the cost/income ratio to the low-50s," Berenberg said. On the earnings forecast side, the research firm trimmed its 2026 income estimate by 0.4%, while the 2027 projection was nudged up 0.2%. For EPS, analysts lifted their forecast for 2026 by 0.6% and cut that for 2027 by 0.2%.