Robert W. Baird Upgrades Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) to "Outperform"

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird upgraded Truist Financial (TFC) from "neutral" to "outperform" and set a $52 price target, implying roughly a 12.1% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 10 Buys, 4 Holds and 1 Sell yield a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $56.47.
• Truist missed Q4 estimates (EPS $1.00 vs. $1.09 and revenue $4.93B vs. $5.32B) but its board approved a $10 billion share buyback (up to 15.7% of shares), while insiders have recently trimmed positions.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $52.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.07% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on TFC. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Truist Financial from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus upped their price objective on Truist Financial from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Truist Financial from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.47.

Truist Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Truist Financial stock opened at $46.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Truist Financial has a 12 month low of $33.56 and a 12 month high of $56.19. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $51.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.72.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.09). Truist Financial had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 17.09%.The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Truist Financial will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 15.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Truist Financial news, CAO Cynthia B. Powell sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.49, for a total value of $183,715.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,010.83. This trade represents a 83.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Baron Maguire sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.13, for a total value of $651,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,725,811.99. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Truist Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TFC. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Truist Financial during the fourth quarter worth $143,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Truist Financial by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,194,110 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $157,430,000 after acquiring an additional 671,528 shares during the period. Bayban acquired a new position in shares of Truist Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. AG Campbell Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Truist Financial in the 4th quarter worth $81,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Truist Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. 71.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Truist Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company that provides a broad range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, Truist Bank, and other operating units. The company offers traditional retail banking products and services such as deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and credit and debit card services. Truist also serves commercial clients with middle-market and corporate lending, treasury and payment solutions, and specialty finance products.

Beyond core banking, Truist operates wealth management, asset management, insurance and capital markets businesses.

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