Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.69 and last traded at $41.71. 7,215,105 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 37,104,969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on Bank of America from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.31.

Bank of America Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $318.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.25 and its 200 day moving average is $43.97.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc raised its stake in Bank of America by 3,883.2% in the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 545,936 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.