Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $54.00 to $56.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BAC. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.58.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $46.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.37. Bank of America has a 52-week low of $31.40 and a 52-week 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.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 152.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 525.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $45,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.