Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Down 7.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price was down 7.4% during mid-day trading on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $50.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as low as $33.67 and last traded at $34.46. Approximately 34,012,220 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 37,531,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.22.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.31.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $261.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

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.