Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Research Coverage Started at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $60.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BAC. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Bank of America from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.67.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $47.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Bank of America has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $57.55.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.73 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 16.23%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 29.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total value of $2,491,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 227,973 shares in the company, valued at $11,357,614.86. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated 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 $15,362,000. This trade represents a 21.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 227,832 shares of company stock valued at $11,094,960. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at $5,091,641,000. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $2,357,461,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 640.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 46,516,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,399,798,000 after buying an additional 40,235,201 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 651,076,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,809,225,000 after buying an additional 23,351,183 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 914.5% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 25,095,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,380,239,000 after buying an additional 22,621,546 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Bank of America

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies initiated coverage with a “Buy” and $60 price target, adding fresh bullish analyst support and suggesting ~27% upside from current levels. Read
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America formed a Private Capital M&A group to advise private equity exits — a strategic move that can expand fee pools for the investment bank and help offset pressure in other areas. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank rolled out an AI‑Powered Meeting Journey to save advisors time and improve client workflows — a productivity/retention leaver for wealth management revenue. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/social partnership: Watson Links and Bank of America expanded youth golf access — positive PR but limited near‑term revenue impact. PR
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America Securities continues active research coverage and reiterations on other companies (AstraZeneca, Arrowhead, Wave, etc.), highlighting the firm’s research franchise but with limited direct impact on BAC stock. Research Note
• Negative Sentiment: Oppenheimer cut its price target from $63 to $58 (still “Outperform”) — the lower target reduces upside expectations and can pressure the stock. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its price target to $57 earlier this week — another analyst trim hitting sentiment after recent highs. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted Bank of America “balances” costs from an Epstein settlement while advancing AI advisor tools — ongoing legal/settlement headlines can create headline risk and investor caution. Article

Bank of America Company Profile

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.