Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $58.01 and last traded at $57.97, with a volume of 29775488 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.37.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Bank of America to $66 from $62 and kept a Buy rating, reinforcing a constructive outlook ahead of second-quarter results. Bank of America (BAC) – Among the Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks with Growing Dividends
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Bank of America’s upcoming second-quarter earnings to show double-digit bottom-line growth, which supports investor confidence ahead of the report. What You Need to Know Ahead of Bank of America’s Earnings Release
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s private-bank research showed wealthy Americans are moving beyond plain-vanilla portfolios, highlighting the firm’s relevance in wealth management and premium client services. People With $25 Million Are Doing This With Their Money Now
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America is being highlighted as a core S&P 500 financial-sector name, underscoring its scale and importance among large-cap financial stocks. What Keeps (NYSE:BAC) Central to the S&P 500 Financial Sector?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore cut their target price on Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Autonomous Res cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.23.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a market cap of $414.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.11. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 16.78%.The business had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 27.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,803,774.97. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Bank of America by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 4,629,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $254,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,080 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 11.2% during the third quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 677,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,974,000 after buying an additional 68,093 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.1% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 2,267,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,997,000 after buying an additional 88,991 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Bank of America by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,411,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,497,655,000 after buying an additional 1,487,809 shares during the period. Finally, Certuity LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 5.1% during the third quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 523,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,987,000 after buying an additional 25,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.