Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) to a moderate sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Truist Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $51.50 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Argus boosted their price objective on Truist Financial from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Truist Financial from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.13.

Truist Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TFC opened at $44.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.55. Truist Financial has a 52 week low of $33.56 and a 52 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.87.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Truist Financial had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 17.09%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Analysts predict that Truist Financial will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.59%.

Truist Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 16th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Truist Financial

In other Truist Financial news, CFO Michael Baron Maguire sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were 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 $3,725,811.99. This trade represents a 14.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Cynthia B. Powell sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.49, for a total transaction of $183,715.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,010.83. The trade was a 83.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TFC. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 4,821.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 14,172,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $697,428,000 after purchasing an additional 13,884,480 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Truist Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $487,401,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 13,511.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,386,831 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $474,886,000 after buying an additional 10,310,523 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 781.3% during the 4th quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,384,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $166,527,000 after buying an additional 3,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,500,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $516,732,000 after buying an additional 2,867,449 shares during the last quarter. 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.