Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Baird R W

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was upgraded by research analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.64.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC opened at $41.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America has a fifty-two week low of $34.15 and a fifty-two week high of $48.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.61 and a 200 day moving average of $43.68.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.