Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Should You Buy?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares were up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $46.23 and last traded at $46.22. Approximately 9,160,896 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 38,602,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BAC shares. Citigroup raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.69.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $352.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.18.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 37.82%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total value of $199,638,463.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 928,460,939 shares in the company, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,518,070 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,437,936,000 after purchasing an additional 36,124,363 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 959.6% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,948,000 after acquiring an additional 8,447,091 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1,432.1% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,151,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,627,000 after acquiring an additional 5,749,567 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 290.7% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 7,114,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,293,000 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.