Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Lifted to “Neutral” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $42.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $37.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. HSBC reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $39.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group reissued a neutral rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Bank of America from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $40.41.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $41.61 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $41.92. The company has a market capitalization of $325.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.35.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.94%. The company had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 1.6% during the second quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 2.5% during the second quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 0.3% during the first quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 108,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Round Hill Asset Management lifted its position in Bank of America by 2.2% during the first quarter. Round Hill Asset Management now owns 14,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 20,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by 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.