Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 1.8% - Should You Buy?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shot up 1.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $45.17 and last traded at $44.93. 9,036,918 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 39,636,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus decreased their price target 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, Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.50. The stock has a market cap of $339.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,940,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $173,168,000 after acquiring an additional 173,021 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,679,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,028,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,150,000 after acquiring an additional 10,377 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,458,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $152,006,000 after buying an additional 38,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,061,000 after buying an additional 50,296 shares in the last quarter. 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.