Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from 27 analysts (22 buys, 5 holds) with an average 12‑month price target of $61.02.
• Bank of America beat the quarter, reporting EPS of $1.11 versus $1.00 expected and revenue of $30.27B (up 10.7% year‑over‑year); analysts forecast $4.46 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Management is returning capital via a $0.28 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.12, ~2.1% yield) and roughly $18.66B of share buybacks over the past 12 months, with institutional investors owning about 70.7% of the stock.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.0208.

BAC has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Prominent bullish endorsement from Jim Cramer calling BofA “a plain out buy,” which can drive short‑term retail and momentum flows. Jim Cramer Believes “Bank of America’s Way Too Cheap, It Should Be Bought”
• Positive Sentiment: Bank extended its large co‑brand credit card deal with Alaska Air—its biggest co‑brand partnership—which supports card revenue visibility; the article also highlights sizable share buybacks ($18.66B over the prior 12 months), a direct capital return that boosts EPS and supports the share price. BAC Stock In Focus After Multi-Year Alaska Air Extension
• Positive Sentiment: ETF/flow dynamics: coverage notes that BAC is being watched by Russell 1000 ETF activity — passive/quant flows can prop up large-cap bank shares when indexes or rebalance activity favor them. Bank Of America Stock Climbs As Russell 1000 ETF Watches
• Neutral Sentiment: Research franchise highlights — BofA analysts continue to move ratings/targets across large coverage names (examples: upward moves on Western Digital and Caterpillar, and coverage actions on other consumer names). This underscores BofA’s investment‑banking/markets footprint but is an indirect driver of the bank’s stock. Bank of America Points to Supply-Demand Imbalance Favoring Western Digital (WDC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/content pieces from BofA (e.g., bold silver price scenarios) showcase research insights but don’t directly change bank fundamentals; they are more about the firm’s sightlines than immediate BAC earnings. Silver Prices Have Pulled Back, But Bank of America Predicts They Could Soar to $309 Before the End of 2026. How?
• Positive Sentiment: Management/advice narratives: BofA’s own market commentary (e.g., telling investors to ignore “sell in May” and hold) can bolster investor confidence and reduce seasonality‑driven selling. Bank of America advises investors to ignore the ‘sell in May and go away’ axiom and hold strong this year. Here's why
• Negative Sentiment: Credit‑market watch: BofA research warns non‑traded private credit BDC redemption requests likely peak in Q2, signaling stress/liquidity pressures in parts of the credit market — a factor to monitor because worsening credit conditions could eventually pressure bank provisions and lending demand. Private credit BDC redemption requests likely to peak in Q2 2026 – BofA
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational strategy note: coverage mentions a renewed focus on branches (branch‑opening spree article) — a strategic choice that may raise near‑term costs but could support deposit and local lending growth over time. This major bank is going on a branch-opening spree

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $53.57 on Friday. Bank of America has a 52 week low of $39.58 and a 52 week high of $57.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $382.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.23.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The business had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Bank of America's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.72%.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $4,191,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 307,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,362,000. This trade represents a 21.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $2,491,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 227,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,357,614.86. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 227,832 shares of company stock worth $11,094,960. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 651,076,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,809,225,000 after buying an additional 23,351,183 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,371,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,448,816,000 after buying an additional 14,275,810 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,774,210,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 57,619,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,169,062,000 after buying an additional 2,929,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 53,783,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,958,110,000 after buying an additional 1,105,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.

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