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

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.50.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAC. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Bank of America from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 1.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Bank of America by 525.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter worth about $45,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $45.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $346.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.18. Bank of America has a 12 month low of $31.27 and a 12 month high of $48.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 37.82%.

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.