Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $54.69 and last traded at $54.4570, with a volume of 7371426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus lifted their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Ameriprise Financial raised shares of Bank of America to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.77.

Bank of America Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $393.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.08. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 30.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 246.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 224.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.