Beacon Financial Corporation (NYSE:BBT) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Beacon Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from seven brokerages, with four hold calls and three buy ratings. The average 1-year price target is $32.00.
• The company recently missed earnings estimates, reporting $0.70 EPS versus the expected $0.83. It also announced a $50 million share repurchase plan, which could support the stock if management believes it is undervalued.
• Beacon Financial pays a quarterly dividend of $0.3225 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.2%. However, the payout ratio is currently 106.61%, indicating the dividend is paying out more than current earnings.

Beacon Financial Corporation (NYSE:BBT - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several research firms have commented on BBT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Beacon Financial from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Beacon Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Beacon Financial from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Beacon Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Hovde Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Beacon Financial in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Beacon Financial Stock Performance

NYSE BBT opened at $30.72 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39 and a beta of 0.55. Beacon Financial has a 1 year low of $22.81 and a 1 year high of $32.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $214.72 million for the quarter. Beacon Financial had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 6.97%. As a group, analysts expect that Beacon Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Beacon Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Beacon Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.3225 dividend. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Beacon Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beacon Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Beacon Financial by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,220 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Beacon Financial by 2.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,869 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Beacon Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corp. operates as a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals, businesses and municipalities. The firm offers a variety of loans and lease financing to individuals and entities, including insurance premium financing, permanent commercial real estate financing arrangements, loan servicing for third-party investors, direct consumer finance loans to individuals, credit card lending, automobile financing and equipment financing. It also markets a range of other services, including deposits, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, health Truist Financial Corp.

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