Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Bank of America has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, reflecting concerns about the bank's performance.
• Despite the downgrade, 21 analysts continue to rate the stock as a "Buy," with an average price target of $54.64.
• The bank's board has authorized a $40 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating confidence in the company's stock value amid fluctuating analyst opinions.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

BAC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Bank of America from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.64.

Bank of America Trading Down 2.4%

BAC opened at $48.62 on Friday. Bank of America has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $52.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.33. The business's 50 day moving average price is $49.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 0.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 148,176,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,982,863,000 after acquiring an additional 403,652 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at $5,091,641,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,521,218,000 after acquiring an additional 803,570 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 5.2% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 51,405,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,432,516,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Bank of America by 45.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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