Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Price Target to $70.00

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Bank of America from $67 to $70 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 15.4% upside from the previous close.
• Other analysts have also turned more positive on BAC, with several firms lifting their targets after the latest earnings report. The stock now has a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a consensus target price of $62.98.
• Bank of America reported a strong quarterly beat, with EPS of $1.21 topping estimates and revenue rising year over year, helping the stock trade near its 52-week high.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target points to a potential upside of 15.44% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $57.50 to $62.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday. Twenty-one investment 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 target price of $62.98.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $60.64 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $54.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. Bank of America has a twelve month low of $44.75 and a twelve month high of $61.21.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 16.78%.The business had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at $72,803,774.97. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter worth about $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America beat Q2 expectations, with EPS of $1.21 topping estimates and revenue rising sharply, driven by stronger trading, investment banking and net interest income. Bank of America Q2 Earnings Beat on NII, Trading & IB Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted durable growth drivers such as rising NII, loan and deposit gains, operating leverage, and AI-enabled productivity, reinforcing the view that the earnings beat is not a one-quarter event. Bank of America Q2 Earnings Call Points to Durable Growth Drivers
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and earnings-call coverage point to broad-based strength, with consumer banking, wealth management, and capital markets all contributing to better results. Bank of America Earnings Call Signals Broad-Based Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America also announced redemptions of certain senior notes, a routine balance-sheet move that is unlikely to materially change the investment thesis on its own. Bank of America Announces Redemptions of Senior Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock is also benefiting from broader bullish sentiment across big banks after JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup posted strong results, which has helped BAC trade near its 52-week high. Why Did Banking Stocks GS, JPM, BAC Surge To 52-Week Highs Today?
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines note that BAC shares initially slipped or saw mixed post-earnings trading despite the beat, suggesting investors may be weighing valuation and margin details even after the strong report. Bank of America stock falls despite earnings beat

About Bank of America

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.

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.