Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Down 7.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s share price dropped 7.4% during mid-day trading on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $50.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as low as $33.67 and last traded at $34.46. Approximately 34,012,220 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 37,531,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.22.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in Bank of America by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 92,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,876,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 128,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 7,819 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 18,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,807 shares during the last quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter worth $207,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Bank of America by 1.5% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 704,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,379,000 after buying an additional 10,205 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Trading Down 7.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.74 and its 200-day moving average is $43.88. The firm has a market cap of $261.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

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.