Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

TFC has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. HSBC upgraded shares of Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Truist Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Truist Financial from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.89.

Truist Financial Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE TFC opened at $42.83 on Thursday. Truist Financial has a 1 year low of $34.23 and a 1 year high of $49.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $56.86 billion, a PE ratio of -29.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.36 and a 200 day moving average of $43.34.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.05 billion. Truist Financial had a positive return on equity of 9.35% and a negative net margin of 4.89%. Research analysts forecast that Truist Financial will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -145.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO William H. Rogers, Jr. bought 34,180 shares of Truist Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $1,659,780.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,576,860.56. This trade represents a 5.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 4,966 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $229,429.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,565.20. This trade represents a 30.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Truist Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TFC. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Truist Financial by 10.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 457,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,780,000 after buying an additional 44,800 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Truist Financial by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 74,756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Truist Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,111,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Truist Financial during the second quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 4.4% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 8,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.28% of the company’s stock.

About Truist Financial

Truist Financial Corporation, a financial services company, provides banking and trust services in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer Banking and Wealth, Corporate and Commercial Banking, and Insurance Holdings.Its deposit products include noninterest-bearing checking, interest-bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.