Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price objective cut by Piper Sandler from $45.00 to $42.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BAC. Barclays dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective 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. Baird R W raised shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.20.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $37.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 47,052,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,127,145. The company has a market capitalization of $284.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Bank of America has a 1 year low of $33.07 and a 1 year high of $48.08. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $41.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.59.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 2.78%. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolf Group Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $380,000. Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.6% during the first quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 17,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 3.5% during the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 40,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 81,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,410,000 after purchasing an additional 18,137 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $998,000. 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.