Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $43.72 and last traded at $43.46. 5,734,628 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 35,739,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BAC. HSBC raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.45.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.1 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $313.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Bank of America by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,940,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,168,000 after buying an additional 173,021 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $60,679,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Bank of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,028,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,150,000 after purchasing an additional 10,377 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in Bank of America by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,458,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,006,000 after purchasing an additional 38,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,929,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,886,769,000 after purchasing an additional 297,858 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.