Brokerages Set Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Price Target at $48.58

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.58.

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. HSBC raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $47.43 on Wednesday. Bank of America has a twelve month low of $32.35 and a twelve month high of $48.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.77 and a 200 day moving average of $42.88. The firm has a market cap of $363.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc increased its stake in Bank of America by 3,883.2% in the fourth quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.