Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Up 1.6% – Time to Buy?

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price was up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $57.07 and last traded at $56.7870. Approximately 33,103,107 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 39,162,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.87.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said consumers are still spending on discretionary items despite inflation and affordability concerns, which supports the bank’s outlook for card, deposit, and retail banking activity. Bank of America CEO Says Consumers Keep Spending Despite Affordability Concerns
• Positive Sentiment: BofA launched a nationwide “Scaminars” fraud-prevention program and expanded AI-enabled fraud detection, which may help reduce client losses and improve the bank’s reputation with retail customers. Bank Of America Targets Elder Fraud With AI And Nationwide Scaminars
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said the current AI stock rally still looks more like a “boom phase” than euphoria, reinforcing bullish sentiment around market activity and investor risk appetite that can benefit the bank’s markets and advisory businesses. AI Stock Rally Is in Boom Phase Not Euphoria, BofA Survey Shows
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA Securities maintained a Hold rating on PDD Holdings and trimmed a derivative-based stake in CA Immobilien Anlagen, but these items are not directly material to BAC’s fundamentals. Bank of America Securities Maintains Hold Rating on PDD Holdings (PDD) Stock Bank of America slightly trims derivative-based stake in CA Immobilien Anlagen
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA also announced a multi-year partnership renewal with the Kansas City Current, which is a brand/community initiative with limited near-term stock impact. Kansas City Current, BofA Announces Multi-Year Partnership Renewal Featuring Enhanced Community Efforts
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America’s fund-flow commentary suggested investors are getting cautious after strong market gains, which could signal a softer near-term backdrop for risk assets and trading volumes. Chip index’s climb is giving fund managers a fear of heights, Bank of America finds

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Autonomous Res decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.06.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.6%

The firm has a market cap of $402.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. 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, June 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 27.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,803,774.97. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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.