Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) was up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $59.43 and last traded at $59.1680. 24,226,330 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 38,845,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.30.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merrill Managed Account Advisors, part of Bank of America, said its platform surpassed $1 trillion in assets, highlighting continued growth in the firm’s wealth management franchise and supporting fee income growth. Merrill Managed Account Advisors Surpasses $1 Trillion, Celebrates 20 Years of Innovation
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America is also being viewed as an increasingly important player in AI-related financing after reportedly extending a $520 million credit line to OpenAI, which boosts its profile in a fast-growing capital-markets niche. BofA extends first $520 million loan to OpenAI ahead of IPO, source says
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and trading notes ahead of earnings suggest BAC could post another quarter of double-digit EPS growth, with expectations also helped by resilience in the balance sheet and improving fundamentals. Bank of America (BAC) Could Deliver Another Quarter of Double-Digit EPS Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles simply previewed Bank of America’s Q2 earnings and key metrics, reinforcing that investors are positioning ahead of the report rather than reacting to a new surprise. Wall Street’s Insights Into Key Metrics Ahead of Bank of America (BAC) Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock is also getting a mild lift from a broader financial-sector bid, with financial stocks edging higher premarket. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Edge Higher Premarket Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Other BAC-linked coverage focused on strategy and market commentary, including cross-border payments and broader economic views, but these items are less likely to move the stock immediately. Bank of America: Cross-Border Payments Must Work Like Local Ones

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus lifted their price target on Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore set a $63.00 price objective on Bank of America and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.19.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.5%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.90. The firm has a market cap of $419.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 16.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 27.72%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total value of $6,719,335.56. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,373,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of America by 10.4% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 50,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after buying an additional 4,751 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% during the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Exchange Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 17.9% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 46,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 7,003 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bank of America

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.