Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.70.

A number of brokerages recently commented on BAC. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Odeon Capital Group lowered shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.90 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Bank of America from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Bank of America from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.50 to $40.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE BAC opened at $37.25 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $291.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.37. Bank of America has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $38.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 4.9% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 390,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,803,000 after purchasing an additional 18,379 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 57.9% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.3% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 171,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,496,000 after buying an additional 5,427 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.1% in the first quarter. Clarity Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% in the first quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 62,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.