Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $65.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as high as $57.27 and last traded at $57.4050, with a volume of 6838107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.95.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Ameriprise Financial raised shares of Bank of America to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Bank of America to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $649,000. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 10.5% during the second quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 259,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,288,000 after acquiring an additional 24,740 shares during the period. Disciplined Investments LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at about $217,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 7.3% in the second quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CCG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 1.29.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.52%.

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.