Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $58.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as high as $53.64 and last traded at $53.5620, with a volume of 31050595 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.45.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. HSBC raised their price objective on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Bank of America from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAC. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 1.4% in the third quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 14,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in Bank of America by 1.6% in the third quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 13,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Motive Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.6% during the third quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 5,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.5% during the third quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 8,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 47,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,428,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $396.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.52%.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.