Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

BAC has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Bank of America from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $41.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Bank of America from $39.50 to $40.50 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $38.70.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $39.76 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $310.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.37. Bank of America has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $39.81.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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 2.41%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.22%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,424,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.3% in the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 39,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.