Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 2.4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Bank of America shares rose 2.4% in mid-day trading, hitting as high as $58.48 and trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The move came alongside trading volume that was below average.
• Sentiment is being supported by multiple bullish analyst actions, including Morgan Stanley raising its price target to $67 and reaffirming an Overweight rating. Across Wall Street, BAC now has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target of $61.60.
• Investors are also focused on upcoming second-quarter earnings on July 14, with analysts expecting stronger results. Recent positives are offset by some noise, including a $7.5 million SEC fine tied to Merrill Lynch and scrutiny over a Fed official’s attendance at a Bank of America dinner.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)'s stock price shot up 2.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $58.48 and last traded at $58.3640. Approximately 34,010,510 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 39,284,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.98.

Key Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley boosted its price target on Bank of America and reiterated an Overweight rating, signaling more upside potential for BAC. Is Bank of America (BAC) the Most Undervalued American Stock to Invest In?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are expecting Bank of America to deliver higher second-quarter earnings when it reports on July 14, which supports sentiment ahead of the print. Bank of America Likely To Report Higher Q2 Earnings; These Most Accurate Analysts Revise Forecasts Ahead Of Earnings Call
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan pushed back on recession fears, which may help ease investor concerns about the economic backdrop for the bank. BofA CEO Brian Moynihan dismisses recession fears despite Wall Street's most hawkish Fed forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America is set to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 14, keeping BAC in focus as investors wait for fresh fundamentals. Bank of America to Report Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Host Investor Conference Call on July 14
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit was fined $7.5 million by the SEC over failures tied to suspicious activity reporting, which adds a small regulatory overhang. SEC Fines Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch $7.5 Million Over Suspicious Activity Reporting Failures
• Negative Sentiment: Senate Democrats asked the Fed’s inspector general to review Michelle Bowman’s attendance at a private Bank of America client dinner, creating reputational noise around BAC. US Senator Warren calls for Fed watchdog review of Bowman's BofA dinner, WSJ reports

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.60.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.73.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at $72,803,774.97. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miller Global Investments LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 30.8% during the second quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Bank of America by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 201,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,477,000 after acquiring an additional 6,442 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Bank of America by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,523,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $86,801,000 after acquiring an additional 58,561 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 45.4% in the 2nd quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 2,695 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VectorGlobal IAG Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,481,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.

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