Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Truist Financial Call Options (NYSE:TFC)

Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 28,780 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 62% compared to the typical volume of 17,725 call options.

Insider Activity at Truist Financial

In other news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 3,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.48, for a total transaction of $141,074.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $604,627.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Truist Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TFC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Truist Financial during the fourth quarter worth $307,787,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in Truist Financial during the 4th quarter worth $95,049,000. North Reef Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Truist Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $66,804,000. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in Truist Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,498,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 342.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,526,939 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,448 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.28% of the company’s stock.

Truist Financial Stock Performance

NYSE TFC traded up $0.85 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,182,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,678,957. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Truist Financial has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $39.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.08.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.12. Truist Financial had a negative net margin of 3.28% and a positive return on equity of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Truist Financial will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.35%. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently -192.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TFC has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Truist Financial from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com cut Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Truist Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Truist Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Truist Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.59.

Truist Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corporation, a financial services company, provides banking and trust services in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer Banking and Wealth, Corporate and Commercial Banking, and Insurance Holdings. Its deposit products include noninterest-bearing checking, interest-bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.