Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Up 1.5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Bank of America shares rose by 1.5% to $52.17, despite a 16% decrease in trading volume compared to average session levels.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with HSBC downgrading it to "hold" while Goldman Sachs maintained a "buy" rating and a target price increase to $52.00.
• The company recently approved a $40 billion share repurchase plan and increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, signaling confidence in its financial health.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) shares were up 1.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.19 and last traded at $52.17. Approximately 35,025,438 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 41,542,609 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on BAC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. HSBC downgraded Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.82.

Bank of America Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $387.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.34.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is 32.75%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 75.2% in the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 246.5% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 585.4% in the second quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 48.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.