Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.23.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, April 4th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $35.22 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Bank of America has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $38.35. The company has a market cap of $277.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.39.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 11.38%. Bank of America’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Roundview Capital LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 1.5% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 135,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Bank of America by 150.3% during the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 4.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 405,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,698,000 after acquiring an additional 16,319 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter worth $586,000. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter worth $534,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.