Ruffer LLP Invests $3.43 Million in Beacon Financial Corporation $BBT

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP purchased 130,048 shares of Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT) in Q4 — about $3.43 million worth — representing roughly 0.15% ownership per its SEC filing.
• Several other institutions (notably Massachusetts Financial Services and Strategic Value Bank Partners) also opened large Q4 positions, and institutional/hedge fund ownership totals about 83.07% of the company.
• Analysts are broadly positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.25, supported by recent upgrades and a slight quarterly earnings beat (EPS $0.79 vs. $0.78).

Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in shares of Beacon Financial Corporation (NYSE:BBT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 130,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,434,000. Ruffer LLP owned 0.15% of Beacon Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Beacon Financial during the 4th quarter worth $35,274,000. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Beacon Financial during the 4th quarter worth $16,448,000. Grace & White Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Beacon Financial during the 4th quarter worth $4,914,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Beacon Financial during the 4th quarter worth $1,714,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Beacon Financial during the 4th quarter worth $1,179,000. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Beacon Financial news, insider Michael W. Mccurdy sold 17,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.04, for a total transaction of $538,016.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $793,227.20. This trade represents a 40.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Beacon Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Beacon Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Beacon Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Beacon Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Beacon Financial from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.25.

Beacon Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBT opened at $31.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 0.62. Beacon Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.81 and a 52 week high of $32.83. The company's 50-day moving average price is $30.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Beacon Financial had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 8.95%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Beacon Financial Corporation will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Beacon Financial

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.