Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wolfe Research

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a $42.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.42% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BAC. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Bank of America from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.53.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $35.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $282.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.24. Bank of America has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $38.35.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $25.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 135,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Bank of America by 150.3% during the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 4.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 405,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,698,000 after acquiring an additional 16,319 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth about $586,000. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth about $534,000. 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.