Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 0.8% - Should You Buy?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares traded up 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.17 and last traded at $40.19. 7,948,624 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 39,103,503 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.25.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a market cap of $312.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.52. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share 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. Stockholders 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 2.53%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.95%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Bank of America by 3.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $611,692,000 after purchasing an additional 569,385 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $306,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Bank of America by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 16,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 86.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 54,302 shares during the period. 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.

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