Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $69.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $56.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Truist Financial from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Truist Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Truist Financial from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Truist Financial from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.47.

Truist Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TFC opened at $52.15 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.89. Truist Financial has a fifty-two week low of $33.56 and a fifty-two week high of $56.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Truist Financial had a net margin of 17.09% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Truist Financial will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.59%.

Truist Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 16th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Truist Financial

In other Truist Financial news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 5,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total transaction of $239,682.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,606.85. The trade was a 33.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Baron Maguire sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.13, for a total value of $651,690.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,725,811.99. This trade represents a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 21,660 shares of company stock worth $1,075,087 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Truist Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Truist Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Truist Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Truist Financial by 71.5% in the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Truist Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Truist Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Truist Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company that provides a broad range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, Truist Bank, and other operating units. The company offers traditional retail banking products and services such as deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and credit and debit card services. Truist also serves commercial clients with middle-market and corporate lending, treasury and payment solutions, and specialty finance products.

Beyond core banking, Truist operates wealth management, asset management, insurance and capital markets businesses.