Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Bank of America was upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting positive sentiment among analysts regarding the stock's value.
• Bank of America has implemented a stock repurchase program, authorizing the buyback of $40 billion in shares, which indicates management believes its shares are undervalued.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed< strong> $0.89 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations and demonstrating a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.3%.

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

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BAC. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.39.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $50.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.28. Bank of America has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $50.96.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 5,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during 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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