Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Given New $37.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price objective raised by BMO Capital Markets from $36.00 to $37.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BAC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Bank of America from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Bank of America from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Bank of America from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $38.29.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $35.77 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.24. Bank of America has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $38.35. The firm has a market cap of $282.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 33.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.