Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shot up 0.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $43.06 and last traded at $43.01. 7,422,238 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 35,729,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.45.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.86.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced 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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,692,000 after buying an additional 569,385 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $606,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 10,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 48.4% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 14,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 4,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter worth approximately $73,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by 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.