Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgraded by Hsbc Global Res to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was upgraded by analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BAC. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of BAC stock opened at $46.21 on Tuesday. Bank of America has a 12-month low of $31.27 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.38 and a 200-day moving average of $42.12. The company has a market capitalization of $354.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.33.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This represents a 1.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 37,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1.1% in the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 20,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA grew its position in Bank of America by 1.6% in the third quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 14,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% in the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 12,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 13,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 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.