Zacks Research Equities Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Bank of America in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, September 16th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $3.25 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $3.24. The consensus estimate for Bank of America’s current full-year earnings is $3.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Bank of America’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.82 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.85 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.37 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.90 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.87 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.67 EPS.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler Companies raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.22.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $39.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,721,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.57, for a total value of $68,114,452.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 861,175,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,076,699,933.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,721,366 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.57, for a total transaction of $68,114,452.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 861,175,131 shares in the company, valued at $34,076,699,933.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 114,391,986 shares of company stock worth $4,719,796,383. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brio Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 17,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Rollins Financial raised its holdings in Bank of America by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 441,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,879,000 after buying an additional 48,998 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 3,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.