Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-one have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.3043.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore set a $59.00 price objective on Bank of America in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on BAC

Bank of America Stock Down 0.1%

BAC opened at $48.50 on Thursday. Bank of America has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $57.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.51.

Bank of America (NYSE:BACGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 16.23%.The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 29.24%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $2,491,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 227,973 shares in the company, valued at $11,357,614.86. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $4,191,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 307,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,362,000. This represents a 21.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $284,000. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $1,286,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $980,000. PeakShares LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $140,000. Finally, Rubicon Advisors GP purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Bank of America

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Bank of America Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

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