Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Price Target Raised to $58.00 at Wolfe Research

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its target price boosted by Wolfe Research from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Seaport Global Securities boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.93.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $50.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $371.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $52.88. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.39.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its 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. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 246.5% during the second 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 last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 224.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% in the second quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.