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

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and four have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.50.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cfra Research boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $44.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $336.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.59. Bank of America has a 1 year low of $33.07 and a 1 year high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $252,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 156,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,867,000 after purchasing an additional 27,383 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 11,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Bank of America by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 28,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.