Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Short Interest Up 6.8% in July

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) saw a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 72,010,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the June 30th total of 67,400,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 35,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.49. The company had a trading volume of 60,098,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,172,520. 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 has a 1 year low of $24.96 and a 1 year high of $44.44. The company has a market capitalization of $308.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.42.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.50 to $40.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Cfra restated a “sell” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.07.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,264,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $216,901,561.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 961,646,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,619,844,658. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 49,545,245 shares of company stock valued at $2,119,252,649 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% during the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% in the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 15.1% in the second quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 3.3% during the second quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 94,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 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.