Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Down 5.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) traded down 5.1% on Monday . The company traded as low as $58.92 and last traded at $59.47. Approximately 60,769,623 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 64% from the average daily volume of 36,979,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.69.

Bank of America News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays maintains a Buy rating. The endorsement provides some support for BAC’s long-term outlook despite near-term weakness in investment banking and trading. Barclays Remains a Buy on Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Merrill launched two portfolio-management services focused on tax-efficient portfolio transitions and systematic cash investing. The initiatives could deepen client relationships and support wealth-management fee growth, which may partly offset softer Wall Street revenue. Merrill Launches New Services
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain solid. BAC’s latest reported quarter exceeded earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 19.6% year over year. However, commentary that the stock may look expensive after rising roughly 25% from its 52-week low limits the potential benefit of those results.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Brian Moynihan warned that third-quarter investment-banking fees could fall at least 10% year over year to approximately $1.6 billion-$1.8 billion, compared with about $2 billion a year earlier. The guidance follows unusually strong second-quarter results and suggests dealmaking activity is normalizing. Bank of America CEO sees at least 10% drop in Q3 investment banking fees
• Negative Sentiment: Trading revenue is expected to be roughly flat year over year. Investors had expected momentum after second-quarter trading revenue increased 33%, so the combination of weaker fees and stalled trading is pressuring BAC and other large-bank stocks. Bank of America expects third-quarter investment banking fees to fall more than 10%

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. Argus set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $62.50 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.08.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.0%

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.07 and its 200-day moving average is $55.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $415.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.15.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 3.6% in the second quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 4.0% in the second quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 4,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% in the second quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 16,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, businesses, institutional investors and governments. Its operations include consumer banking, credit and debit cards, mortgages, small-business banking, commercial banking, investment banking, securities trading and investment management.

The company provides consumer and wealth-management services through Bank of America and Merrill, including deposit accounts, lending, brokerage, retirement planning, financial advice and private banking.