Blimey, what’s happened to the Barclays share price?

Simply over a month in the past, the FTSE 100 index hit a document excessive of 8,908.82 factors on 3 March. As I write on Monday afternoon (7 April), it stands at 7,738.24, down 13.1% in 5 weeks. However many Footsie shares have been hit a lot tougher, similar to the Barclays (LSE: BARC) share value.

Blame the Trump hunch

Additionally on 3 March, Barclays shares hit a multi-year excessive of 316p, earlier than easing again to shut at 311.1p. By my calculations, this took the inventory shut to a 15-year excessive, reached following the collapse of the shares throughout the international monetary disaster of 2007-09.

As Barclays shareholders, my spouse and I had been happy to see this worth play paying off handsomely for our household portfolio. Alas, our positivity didn’t final lengthy, as the Barclays share value has plunged over the previous two weeks.

As I write, the inventory trades at 241.45p, valuing the Blue Eagle financial institution at £33.6bn. Which means that the financial institution’s market worth has crashed by round £10.4bn from its March excessive. This leaves this in style and extensively held share down 23.6% from its 2025 peak. Ouch.

Regardless of this crash — which resulted from a world market sell-off worsened by President Trump’s commerce tariffs — Barclays shares are nonetheless up by 1 / 4 (25%) over the previous 12 months. However, this inventory is now again to value ranges final seen on Halloween (31 October 2024).

Barclays seems a discount

It may very well be argued that the Barclays share value went too far, too quick in the run-up to this crash. From 5 August 2024 to 28 February 2025, the shares rose by greater than half, up 51% in beneath seven months. Nonetheless, after this steep slide, I see this inventory as clearly undervalued right this moment.

Trump’s commerce conflict is probably going to trigger US (and international) financial progress to sluggish and even flip adverse. In any case, tariffs are merely taxes — and when taxes and costs rise, disposable revenue falls and shopper spending slows. What’s extra, economists anticipate this commerce conflict to raise US inflation and unemployment, additional hitting the American public.

However even taking this gloomy financial outlook into consideration, Barclays inventory seems mispriced to me. At 241.45p, the shares commerce on a mere 6.9 instances trailing earnings, delivering a bumper earnings yield of 14.5%. Which means that Barclays’ dividend yield of three.5% a 12 months is roofed virtually 4.2 instances by historic earnings.

To me, these resemble the fundamentals of firms in disaster, quite than these of one in every of the UK’s largest and best-capitalised lenders to householders, customers, and companies. In fact, a world downturn or full-blown recession would improve British banks’ unhealthy money owed and mortgage losses. Credit score progress might additionally reverse. However I feel these potentialities might already be totally baked into the Barclays share value.

If I had money earmarked for funding and the Idiot’s buying and selling guidelines would enable, I’d fill my boots by shopping for extra Barclays shares now. Nonetheless, we intend to repay our mortgage when our low-rate house mortgage expires in September, so we will’t threat this money. However, I’d urge traders to think about shopping for low-priced shares throughout this newest market meltdown!