Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Sets New 1-Year High at $38.50

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.50 and last traded at $38.27, with a volume of 8992730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bank of America from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Wolfe Research raised Bank of America from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Bank of America from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.53.

Bank of America Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $299.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.64.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. The business had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 8.2% during the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 55,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 228.3% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 46,950 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $673,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in Bank of America by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 978,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,799,000 after acquiring an additional 225,767 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.