Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Erste Group Bank

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was upgraded by analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BAC. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.38.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE BAC opened at $50.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $374.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.37 and a 200 day moving average of $45.28. Bank of America has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $52.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.1% during the second quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 5,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.0% during the second quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.8% during the second quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 48.7% during the second quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.