Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 2% – Should You Buy?

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) rose 2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $62.56 and last traded at $62.38. 32,648,833 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 37,176,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.17.

Key Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s artificial-intelligence initiatives and branch expansion are expected to improve operating efficiency and customer service. The potential for productivity gains supports the long-term earnings case, although elevated expenses remain a risk. Should You Buy BAC Stock as AI-Led Branch Expansion Boosts Efficiency?
• Positive Sentiment: Strong inflows into gold and cryptocurrency funds reported by BofA suggest elevated client demand for investment products. That activity could benefit the bank’s wealth-management, brokerage and trading businesses, though the impact on BAC’s earnings is indirect.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America disclosed holdings of approximately 4.69% and 5.87% in QIAGEN, reflecting regulatory notifications about its investment position. The disclosures may attract attention but do not materially change BAC’s core banking outlook. Bank of America Discloses 5.87% Stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA strategists warned that global equities could face an autumn “reality check” tied to the U.S. midterm elections and geopolitical developments. A market pullback could weigh on BAC through lower investment-banking, asset-management and trading activity. Bank of America Warns of an Autumn Reality Check
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan is hiring senior technology dealmaker David Fishman from Bank of America. Losing an experienced M&A executive could weaken BAC’s technology investment-banking franchise and adds to competitive pressure. JPMorgan Hiring Bank of America’s David Fishman
• Negative Sentiment: The SEC is reportedly investigating margin lending to hedge fund Situational Awareness after a 67% drawdown, with Bank of America among the subpoenaed banks. Potential legal, credit and reputational risks could pressure sentiment. SEC Probe Puts Wall Street Leverage Risk Back in Focus
• Negative Sentiment: BAC is challenging proposed changes to the Federal Reserve’s global systemically important bank capital surcharge. Higher capital requirements could constrain lending, reduce balance-sheet flexibility and pressure returns on equity. Bank of America Joins Clash Over Fed GSIB Capital Rule

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Argus set a $70.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.08.

Bank of America Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.86.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 25.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 69.9% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.