Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.10 EPS

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10, Zacks reports. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $36.64 on Tuesday. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $33.07 and a 1-year high of $48.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.70.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Bank of America stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $4,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.31.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.