Azora Capital LP Acquires Shares of 4,182,530 Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,182,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $238,321,000. Bank of America comprises 10.0% of Azora Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Azora Capital LP owned about 0.06% of Bank of America at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 45.4% in the second quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 40,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 12,794 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at $34,218,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 2,103,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $119,856,000 after buying an additional 250,769 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $813,000. Finally, Arini Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth $5,698,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

More Bank of America News

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s artificial-intelligence initiatives and branch expansion are expected to improve operating efficiency and customer service. The potential for productivity gains supports the long-term earnings case, although elevated expenses remain a risk. Should You Buy BAC Stock as AI-Led Branch Expansion Boosts Efficiency?
• Positive Sentiment: Strong inflows into gold and cryptocurrency funds reported by BofA suggest elevated client demand for investment products. That activity could benefit the bank’s wealth-management, brokerage and trading businesses, though the impact on BAC’s earnings is indirect.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America disclosed holdings of approximately 4.69% and 5.87% in QIAGEN, reflecting regulatory notifications about its investment position. The disclosures may attract attention but do not materially change BAC’s core banking outlook. Bank of America Discloses 5.87% Stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA strategists warned that global equities could face an autumn “reality check” tied to the U.S. midterm elections and geopolitical developments. A market pullback could weigh on BAC through lower investment-banking, asset-management and trading activity. Bank of America Warns of an Autumn Reality Check
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan is hiring senior technology dealmaker David Fishman from Bank of America. Losing an experienced M&A executive could weaken BAC’s technology investment-banking franchise and adds to competitive pressure. JPMorgan Hiring Bank of America’s David Fishman
• Negative Sentiment: The SEC is reportedly investigating margin lending to hedge fund Situational Awareness after a 67% drawdown, with Bank of America among the subpoenaed banks. Potential legal, credit and reputational risks could pressure sentiment. SEC Probe Puts Wall Street Leverage Risk Back in Focus
• Negative Sentiment: BAC is challenging proposed changes to the Federal Reserve’s global systemically important bank capital surcharge. Higher capital requirements could constrain lending, reduce balance-sheet flexibility and pressure returns on equity. Bank of America Joins Clash Over Fed GSIB Capital Rule

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Bank of America from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Bank of America from $62.50 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Bank of America from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.08.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.0%

Bank of America stock opened at $62.38 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $46.12 and a 52 week high of $65.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.78 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The business's revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.69%.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.

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