Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shot up 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $46.15 and last traded at $46.10. 5,883,063 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 38,579,504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BAC. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.26.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.9 %

The company has a market cap of $358.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total value of $268,752,482.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 921,706,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,674,708,279.93. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This represents a 48.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 107,883,988 shares of company stock valued at $4,344,741,752. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 1,489.3% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.