Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on BBT. Weiss Ratings raised Beacon Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Beacon Financial from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial downgraded Beacon Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Hovde Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Beacon Financial in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Beacon Financial from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Beacon Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.75.

Beacon Financial Price Performance

Shares of BBT traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 807,120. Beacon Financial has a fifty-two week low of $22.81 and a fifty-two week high of $32.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $214.72 million during the quarter. Beacon Financial had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 6.97%. On average, research analysts predict that Beacon Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Beacon Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael W. Mccurdy sold 17,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.04, for a total value of $538,016.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $793,227.20. The trade was a 40.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beacon Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBT. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC bought a new stake in Beacon Financial during the first quarter worth about $200,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Beacon Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 44,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Beacon Financial by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 407,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,220,000 after acquiring an additional 7,443 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Beacon Financial by 12,076.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 72,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 71,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Bank & Trust raised its position in Beacon Financial by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Bank & Trust now owns 10,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Beacon Financial

Truist Financial Corp. operates as a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals, businesses and municipalities. The firm offers a variety of loans and lease financing to individuals and entities, including insurance premium financing, permanent commercial real estate financing arrangements, loan servicing for third-party investors, direct consumer finance loans to individuals, credit card lending, automobile financing and equipment financing. It also markets a range of other services, including deposits, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, health Truist Financial Corp.