Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $53.99 and last traded at $53.5160, with a volume of 4428199 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank upgraded Bank of America to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.86.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 30.52%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after buying an additional 25,143 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter worth $296,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 87.2% in the 1st quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 19,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 9,031 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.