Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 27.63% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.67.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $47.01 on Thursday. Bank of America has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $57.55. The company has a market cap of $335.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.73 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 16.23%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 94,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total value of $4,412,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 170,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,988,436.96. This represents a 35.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $2,491,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 227,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,357,614.86. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 227,832 shares of company stock valued at $11,094,960. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $1,298,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $4,250,000. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 53,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,943,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 244,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 75,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Bank of America

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies initiated coverage with a “Buy” and $60 price target, adding fresh bullish analyst support and suggesting ~27% upside from current levels. Read
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America formed a Private Capital M&A group to advise private equity exits — a strategic move that can expand fee pools for the investment bank and help offset pressure in other areas. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank rolled out an AI‑Powered Meeting Journey to save advisors time and improve client workflows — a productivity/retention leaver for wealth management revenue. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/social partnership: Watson Links and Bank of America expanded youth golf access — positive PR but limited near‑term revenue impact. PR
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America Securities continues active research coverage and reiterations on other companies (AstraZeneca, Arrowhead, Wave, etc.), highlighting the firm’s research franchise but with limited direct impact on BAC stock. Research Note
• Negative Sentiment: Oppenheimer cut its price target from $63 to $58 (still “Outperform”) — the lower target reduces upside expectations and can pressure the stock. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its price target to $57 earlier this week — another analyst trim hitting sentiment after recent highs. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted Bank of America “balances” costs from an Epstein settlement while advancing AI advisor tools — ongoing legal/settlement headlines can create headline risk and investor caution. Article

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.