Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Coverage Initiated at TD Cowen

TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $53.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Argus dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cfra Research lifted their price objective on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $44.66. The stock had a trading volume of 49,375,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,631,271. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.54. Bank of America has a 12-month low of $33.07 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The stock has a market cap of $336.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 3,883.2% in the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

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.