Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $56.00 to $59.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as high as $54.83 and last traded at $54.8160, with a volume of 5387614 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.56.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Argus raised their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 75.2% in the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 246.5% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter worth about $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 224.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.49. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $402.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The company had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation 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, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 30.52%.

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.