Short Interest in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Increases By 37.3%

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 79,270,000 shares, an increase of 37.3% from the January 31st total of 57,750,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 33,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3,883.2% in the fourth quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.58.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $42.27. The stock had a trading volume of 52,238,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,785,895. Bank of America has a one year low of $34.15 and a one year high of $48.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

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.