Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading 0.5% Higher - Should You Buy?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares were up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $41.69 and last traded at $41.71. Approximately 7,215,105 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 37,104,969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on BAC. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. HSBC raised shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.31.

Bank of America Trading Down 7.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $261.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,243,000,000 after buying an additional 2,033,229 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,381,126,000 after acquiring an additional 11,691,451 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after acquiring an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Bank of America by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

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.