Bank of America Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:BAC)

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 257,373 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 61% compared to the typical volume of 159,859 call options.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.51. 32,544,126 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,270,715. The firm has a market capitalization of $396.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $54.00. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.20.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. The company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank upgraded Bank of America to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Bank of America from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Bank of America from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets increased their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,091,641,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,007,718,000 after buying an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 124.8% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,619,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $833,771,000 after buying an additional 9,782,208 shares in the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth $202,439,000. Finally, Unisphere Establishment raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 1,642.5% in the first quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $175,057,000 after buying an additional 3,954,250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.