UK'S Barclays gains on quarterly pre-tax profit beat, income outlook upgrade

Shares of Barclays BARC.L jump as much as 4.03% to 310 pence on upbeat first-quarter earnings

The bank reported a 19% rise in pre-tax profit at 2.72 billion pounds ($3.64 billion) for the quarter ended March 31, beating analysts' average estimate of 2.49 billion pounds - data compiled by LSEG

Group total income came in at 7.71 billion pounds for the quarter, up 11% Y-o-Y

Co reiterated its 2025-2026 financial and distribution goals, even raised 2025 income outlook to over 12.5 billion pounds from a previous forecast of 12.2 billion pounds

Says it plans to return at least 10 billion pounds to shareholders between 2024 and 2026, with a continued preference for buybacks

Fifteen of 18 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, while three suggest "hold"; their median PT is 350 pence - data compiled by LSEG

Stock up 15.61% so far this year

($1 = 0.7471 pounds)