Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Down 10.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price was down 10.5% on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $49.50 to $43.50. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as low as $37.32 and last traded at $37.45. Approximately 49,494,520 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 33% from the average daily volume of 37,266,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.85.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.45.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 3,883.2% during the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 559,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 545,936 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

About Bank of America

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.