Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 0.8%

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares rose 0.8% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.09 and last traded at $38.01. Approximately 5,968,718 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 40,121,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.50 to $40.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.70.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $299.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.37.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 55,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 234.5% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 27,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 19,179 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 228.3% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,273,000 after acquiring an additional 46,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $105,000. 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.