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

Key Points

• Bank of America has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 22 buy ratings and 5 hold ratings across 27 analysts. The average 12-month price target is about $61.06.
• The company reported strong recent earnings, posting $1.11 EPS versus the $1.00 estimate and revenue of $30.27 billion, both ahead of expectations. Revenue rose 10.7% from a year earlier, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 4.45.
• Bank of America also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, or $1.12 annualized, for a yield of about 2.0%. The payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.0625.

BAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Bank of America from $61.50 to $57.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total value of $6,719,335.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 4,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Financial Partners lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 7,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 19,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s internal research is being cited as bullish for the bank sector, with commentary that higher rates can still support net interest income even as the Fed holds rates steady, which could help BAC’s earnings outlook. Fed Holds Rates But Signals Hike: Key Takeaways for Bank Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also drew attention for its view that lower-income households may be stabilizing, suggesting the consumer backdrop could be improving and reducing recession fears that would hurt loan growth and credit quality. Miserable K-shaped economy might actually be fading, as lower-income families bounce back, says Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America revealed a roughly 3% indirect stake in Qiagen and reported similar holdings disclosures for Umicore; these are portfolio/ownership updates and are unlikely to have a direct impact on BAC’s core banking results. Bank of America Reveals 3.01% Indirect Stake in Qiagen Umicore - Transparency notifications by Bank of America Corporation
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that a Fed official spoke at a private Bank of America client dinner may attract headlines, but it appears more like a reputational/regulatory talking point than a direct earnings driver. The Fed's vice chair of supervision spoke at a private dinner Bank of America hosted for clients hours after the central bank announced its latest policy decision
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America is facing fresh scrutiny tied to regulators’ upcoming “debanking” findings, which could create policy and compliance concerns for large banks like BAC. Bank Of America (BAC) Faces Fresh Scrutiny As Regulators Ready Debanking Findings

Bank of America Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE BAC opened at $56.26 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $52.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.54. Bank of America has a 52 week low of $44.75 and a 52 week high of $57.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $399.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.18.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.