Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.11 and last traded at $56.0750, with a volume of 12248126 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Erste Group Bank raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.59.

Bank of America Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $411.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.06.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth $5,091,641,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 640.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 46,516,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,399,798,000 after buying an additional 40,235,201 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Bank of America by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,371,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,448,816,000 after buying an additional 14,275,810 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Bank of America by 124.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,619,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $833,771,000 after buying an additional 9,782,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,863,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.