Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading 3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shot up 3% on Friday after Wolfe Research upgraded the stock from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating. Wolfe Research now has a $42.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America traded as high as $36.88 and last traded at $36.84. 15,573,619 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 41,202,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.77.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BAC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Bank of America from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 135,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 150.3% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 405,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,698,000 after acquiring an additional 16,319 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $586,000. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $534,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.31. The company has a market capitalization of $291.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.49 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 33.22%.

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.