Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgraded by Erste Group Bank to “Buy” Rating

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

BAC has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Bank of America from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.38.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $50.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $374.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.26. Bank of America has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 246.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% in the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% during the second quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 48.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.