Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Price Target to $70.00

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price target decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BAC. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Argus set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $63.00 target price on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.88.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $56.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $396.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Bank of America has a 52 week low of $46.12 and a 52 week high of $65.22. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.05.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 17.56%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 29.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 167.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 69.9% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Improving revenue outlook: Analysts say broader loan growth, expected net interest income growth of 7%–8%, and the repricing of fixed-rate assets could help sustain Bank of America’s revenue momentum. This reinforces the bank’s recent earnings strength, including its latest revenue and EPS beat. Can Bank of America Sustain Revenue Growth on Stronger Loans and NII?
• Positive Sentiment: Still viewed favorably after the selloff: Recent research characterizes BAC as an attractive value opportunity based on strong core earnings, with valuation metrics remaining relatively undemanding. Jefferies also maintained a Buy rating despite reducing its price target from $75 to $70. Jefferies lowers Bank of America price target but maintains Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term workforce investment: Bank of America plans to hire 1,000 additional apprentices over two years and invest $150 million in workforce development. The initiative may strengthen hiring pipelines and community relationships, although its direct earnings impact is likely limited in the near term. BofA to hire apprentices and invest in workforce development
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed market signals: BofA strategist Michael Hartnett said investor behavior suggests confidence that central banks can restore policy credibility, but the bank also highlighted rising Treasury-market anxiety and financial-stock weakness as potential signals of a major risk-off event. BofA warns of potential market selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and risk concerns: BofA warned that elevated Treasury volatility could trigger deleveraging across markets. Separately, growing investor concern that the artificial-intelligence spending boom could become a bust adds to broader equity-market risk, potentially pressuring bank shares if credit conditions deteriorate. Bank of America warns stock market faces deleveraging risk

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, businesses, institutional investors and governments. Its operations include consumer banking, credit and debit cards, mortgages, small-business banking, commercial banking, investment banking, securities trading and investment management.

The company provides consumer and wealth-management services through Bank of America and Merrill, including deposit accounts, lending, brokerage, retirement planning, financial advice and private banking.