Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading 0.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price was up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $43.72 and last traded at $43.46. Approximately 5,734,628 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 35,739,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Baird R W upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.45.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $313.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.85.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of America by 3.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,692,000 after purchasing an additional 569,385 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $606,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,162,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $427,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.