Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Bank of America has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from 22 brokerages, with 17 analysts issuing buy recommendations and 5 analysts recommending a hold on the stock.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, representing a 2.3% yield and reflecting its strong financial position.
• Bank of America also authorized a $40 billion stock repurchase program, indicating confidence in its stock valuation and aiming to reduce outstanding shares by up to 11.1%.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.1250.

BAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 246.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 585.4% in the 2nd quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE:BAC opened at $49.4850 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $49.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.83.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.7 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 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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