Wall Street Zen Downgrades Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to Sell

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Phillip Securities cut Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.64.

View Our Latest Report on Bank of America

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $48.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BACGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 246.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 224.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% during the 2nd quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank of America

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

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