Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on BAC. Wolfe Research cut shares of Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.88.

Read Our Latest Research Report on BAC

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC opened at $48.21 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $344.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.28. Bank of America has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $57.55.

Bank of America (NYSE:BACGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total value of $2,491,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 227,973 shares in the company, valued at $11,357,614.86. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $4,191,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 307,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,362,000. This represents a 21.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 227,832 shares of company stock valued at $11,094,960 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 4,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Financial Partners grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 7,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 19,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

More Bank of America News

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

About Bank of America

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

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