Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Short Interest Down 8.1% in November

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) saw a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 74,690,000 shares, a drop of 8.1% from the November 15th total of 81,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 35,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BAC stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $45.50. 27,325,910 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,177,430. Bank of America has a 12-month low of $31.27 and a 12-month high of $48.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $44.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $465,811,996.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 835,908,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,088,345,979.30. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,223,897 shares of company stock worth $2,232,505,985. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $550,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Bush Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth $239,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $1,670,000. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth about $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.