BMO Capital Markets Increases Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Price Target to $37.00

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its target price lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $36.00 to $37.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Odeon Capital Group downgraded shares of Bank of America from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $33.90 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. HSBC reiterated a hold rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Bank of America from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $38.29.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $35.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Bank of America has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $38.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.24.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.