Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 81,280,000 shares, an increase of 27.3% from the October 31st total of 63,840,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 36,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of BAC stock traded down $0.49 on Monday, hitting $47.02. 35,888,483 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,466,016. Bank of America has a twelve month low of $30.33 and a twelve month high of $48.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $43.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.02. 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 (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,031,014 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total transaction of $202,649,243.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 863,977,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,801,017,687.72. The trade was a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 70,007,916 shares of company stock worth $2,829,836,123 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Bank of America by 525.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of America

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.