Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $65.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as high as $57.27 and last traded at $57.4050, with a volume of 6838107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.95.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Bank of America to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.27.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 246.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its stake in Bank of America by 224.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.6%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.80 and a 200-day moving average of $50.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $419.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 30.52%.

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.