Short Interest in Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) Drops By 20.7%

Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,100,000 shares, a drop of 20.7% from the December 15th total of 20,290,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 7,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC raised Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Truist Financial from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Truist Financial

In other news, CEO William H. Rogers, Jr. purchased 34,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $1,659,780.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 691,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,576,860.56. This represents a 5.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 4,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $229,429.20. Following the transaction, the director now 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. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tradewinds LLC. increased its position in shares of Truist Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Truist Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Truist Financial by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in Truist Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 17,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 71.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Truist Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TFC traded up $2.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.63. 15,702,724 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,280,771. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.48. Truist Financial has a 52-week low of $34.23 and a 52-week high of $49.06. The company has a market cap of $63.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.08.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Truist Financial had a negative net margin of 4.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.35%. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5,047,370 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Truist Financial will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Truist Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial’s payout ratio is currently -145.45%.

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.