Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) from a hold rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Evercore ISI currently has $58.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $49.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Truist Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Truist Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Truist Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.80.

Truist Financial Price Performance

Truist Financial stock opened at $50.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89. Truist Financial has a 52-week low of $33.56 and a 52-week high of $51.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.67.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.20 billion. Truist Financial had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 8.73%. Truist Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Truist Financial will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Truist Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Truist Financial’s payout ratio is currently 55.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Truist Financial

In other news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 5,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total value of $239,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,606.85. This represents a 33.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Truist Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Truist Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 71.5% in the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 259.1% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Truist Financial by 631.6% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Truist Financial during the second quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 71.28% of the company’s stock.

About Truist Financial

Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company that provides a broad range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, Truist Bank, and other operating units. The company offers traditional retail banking products and services such as deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and credit and debit card services. Truist also serves commercial clients with middle-market and corporate lending, treasury and payment solutions, and specialty finance products.

Beyond core banking, Truist operates wealth management, asset management, insurance and capital markets businesses.