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

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.58.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $46.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $354.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33. 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 has a 12 month low of $34.03 and a 12 month high of $48.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.59.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,243,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,229 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,381,126,000 after acquiring an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Bank of America by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,031,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 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 valued at $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.