Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.45.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $42.81 on Thursday. Bank of America has a 12-month low of $34.15 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $44.63 and its 200-day moving average is $43.86. The company has a market capitalization of $325.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,243,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,229 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Bank of America by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,381,126,000 after buying an additional 11,691,451 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,876,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,985,785,000 after acquiring an additional 9,980,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.