Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Sets New 1-Year High at $38.50

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.50 and last traded at $38.27, with a volume of 8992730 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.53.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $299.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.64.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 33.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its stake in Bank of America by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 1,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.