Baird R W Upgrades Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) to “Strong-Buy”

Baird R W upgraded shares of Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Truist Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.16.

Truist Financial Price Performance

Truist Financial stock opened at $43.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $56.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.08. Truist Financial has a 52-week low of $34.51 and a 52-week high of $49.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.67.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.05 billion. Truist Financial had a net margin of 15.59% and a return on equity of 9.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Truist Financial will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. Truist Financial’s payout ratio is 62.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Truist Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tradewinds LLC. grew its stake in Truist Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,904,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Truist Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,270,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Truist Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Truist Financial by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, FWG Holdings LLC grew its stake in Truist Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 5,694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Truist Financial

Truist Financial Corporation, a financial services company, provides banking and trust services in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer Banking and Wealth, Corporate and Commercial Banking, and Insurance Holdings.Its deposit products include noninterest-bearing checking, interest-bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.