Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) Stock Dropped to Sell by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Truist Financial from “hold” to “sell,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with seven buy, ten hold, and two sell ratings and an average price target of $53.82.
• Truist shares opened at $48.74, down 1.2%, after the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.16—slightly below the $1.17 consensus—and revenue of $5.30 billion, also below expectations.
• CEO Michael Lyons purchased 25,000 shares worth approximately $1.21 million, while institutional investors own 71.28% of the company’s stock.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. HSBC began coverage on Truist Financial in a research note on Monday, September 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $50.50 to $51.50 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Truist Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $56.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $52.00 price target on shares of Truist Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.82.

Truist Financial Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE TFC opened at $48.74 on Friday. Truist Financial has a 1 year low of $43.13 and a 1 year high of $56.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.39 and a 200 day moving average of $49.50. The stock has a market cap of $59.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.92.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). Truist Financial had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Truist Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Truist Financial will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Truist Financial

In other Truist Financial news, CEO Michael Lyons bought 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.36 per share, with a total value of $1,209,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 46,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,224,560. This trade represents a 119.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Truist Financial in the second quarter valued at about $4,959,834,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 0.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 58,692,619 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,924,066,000 after buying an additional 501,026 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,289,721 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $518,988,000 after buying an additional 789,179 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,608,268 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $395,642,000 after buying an additional 164,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Truist Financial by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,853,887 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $391,281,000 after buying an additional 44,215 shares during the last quarter. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Truist Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, operating through its principal subsidiary, Truist Bank. The company provides banking, lending, investment, insurance and wealth management services to consumers, small businesses, commercial clients and institutional customers.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, consumer loans, credit cards, commercial and industrial lending, treasury and payment services, investment banking, brokerage, asset management and insurance products.

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