AlphaQuest LLC Acquires Shares of 101,026 Beacon Financial Corporation $BBT

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Beacon Financial, buying 101,026 shares worth about $2.66 million, which represented 0.12% of the company.
• Beacon Financial recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.70 per share, missing analyst expectations of $0.83, even as revenue came in at $214.72 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3225 per share and launched a $50 million stock buyback program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $31.75.

AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Beacon Financial Corporation (NYSE:BBT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 101,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,000. AlphaQuest LLC owned 0.12% of Beacon Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Beacon Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BBT stock opened at $29.14 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.52. Beacon Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.81 and a 52 week high of $32.83. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.55.

Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $214.72 million during the quarter. Beacon Financial had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.02%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Beacon Financial Corporation will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Beacon Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Beacon Financial's payout ratio is currently 106.61%.

Beacon Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Beacon Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Hovde Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Beacon Financial in a report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Beacon Financial from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Beacon Financial from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Beacon Financial from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael W. Mccurdy sold 17,333 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.04, for a total transaction of $538,016.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $793,227.20. The trade was a 40.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.09% of the company's stock.

Beacon Financial 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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