Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $36.67, but opened at $37.80. Bank of America shares last traded at $38.10, with a volume of 19,638,076 shares.

The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. 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 note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.31.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $611,692,000 after acquiring an additional 569,385 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $306,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.3% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter worth $645,000. Finally, Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $488,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 3.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $289.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.66.

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.