Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $54.54, but opened at $52.88. Bank of America shares last traded at $51.9240, with a volume of 24,045,211 shares traded.

Bank of America News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat driven by net interest income and trading — BAC posted $0.98 EPS and revenue above estimates, with trading revenues climbing and consumer spending up, supporting near‑term earnings quality. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Trading and NII strength: management highlighted rising net interest income and continued equities/trading gains (trading revenue streak), which helped the beat and points to fee + rate tailwinds. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO commentary was upbeat on the U.S. economy, which can reassure investors on consumer trends but doesn’t change near‑term guidance. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/flow signals: some analysts note BAC has fallen back to prior resistance that may act as technical support — a mixed short-term technical picture for traders. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Disappointing forward commentary / weak investment banking: several outlets report management’s guidance and softer IB outlook overshadowed the beat, triggering profit‑taking. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market and macro headwinds: softer-than-expected PPI and a broadly weaker open pressured bank stocks and risk appetite, amplifying BAC’s downside after the print. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Policy/regulatory risk remains: proposals to cap credit-card rates are keeping regulatory risk in focus for banks, a possible longer‑term headwind for net yields and card income. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: headlines note this is one of BAC’s sharper intraday selloffs tied to the mix of guidance, weak IB, and broader bank‑stock pressure. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Bank of America to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Ameriprise Financial raised shares of Bank of America to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.91.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $378.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $28.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.73 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The business’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 30.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 148,176,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,982,863,000 after purchasing an additional 403,652 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Bank of America by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,371,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,448,816,000 after acquiring an additional 14,275,810 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,091,641,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 52,677,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,717,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 640.5% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 40,235,201 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 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.