Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgraded to "Buy" at Ameriprise Financial

Key Points

• Bank of America was upgraded to a "buy" rating by Ameriprise Financial, reflecting increased analyst confidence in the stock.
• Phillip Securities raised its target price on Bank of America shares from $50.00 to $56.00, while several other analysts also gave positive ratings and target price increases.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.06, surpassing estimates, and initiated a stock repurchase plan for up to $40 billion in outstanding shares.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was upgraded by equities researchers at Ameriprise Financial to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Phillip Securities boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.23.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $51.45 on Wednesday. Bank of America has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $52.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $381.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $28.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 111,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,654,000 after acquiring an additional 8,435 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter valued at $399,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter valued at $1,736,000. Finally, New World Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 17.5% in the first quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 9,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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