Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup from $66.00 to $60.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.93% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Argus set a $70.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.52.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of BAC stock traded up $0.37 on Thursday, reaching $51.76. 28,399,741 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,551,824. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.69. Bank of America has a 52 week low of $46.12 and a 52 week high of $65.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $361.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.02). Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The business had revenue of $29.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 4.60 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at about $2,571,060,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at about $2,359,172,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at about $2,313,953,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 42,385,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,066,274,000 after buying an additional 4,721,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 31,135,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,517,599,000 after buying an additional 561,413 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains a partial tailwind. Robert W. Baird upgraded BAC to “outperform” with a $62 price target, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods maintained an “outperform” rating with a $65 target. Several other analysts still see upside from current levels. Analyst ratings and price targets
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted stronger underlying banking trends, including 8% year-over-year net interest income growth, expanding loans and deposits, and a goal of at least 8% NII growth in 2027. Consumer banking and wealth management also helped offset weakness in trading and investment banking. Q3 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: BAC’s valuation and shareholder returns may attract long-term investors following the selloff. The bank returned $8.3 billion to shareholders through dividends and repurchases, while its relatively low earnings multiple could support a recovery if costs and compliance issues improve.
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist, TD Cowen and Morgan Stanley lowered their price targets, but their revised targets remain above the current share price. Ratings ranged from “hold” to “outperform,” signaling continued optimism about the franchise but greater near-term caution.
• Negative Sentiment: The main overhang is a more than $1.2 billion non-tax-deductible penalty tied to anti-money-laundering and sanctions-control failures. Regulators said Bank of America failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions. The charge reduced quarterly earnings by roughly $0.17 per share and raises concerns about additional remediation costs and management oversight. Reuters report on Bank of America penalty
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.08 and revenue of approximately $30.0 billion missed analyst expectations. Weaker fixed-income trading, investment-banking activity, higher credit-loss provisions and rising expenses pressured results, while unrealized bond losses reportedly climbed to $109 billion as long-term yields increased. BAC Q3 earnings analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America is also hiring about 1,000 contractors to address software weaknesses exposed by advanced AI testing, adding to compliance and technology expenses. Several law firms have announced shareholder investigations, creating an additional reputational and potential legal risk.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its principal businesses include consumer banking, wealth and investment management, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and sales and trading.

Through its banking and financial services businesses, the company offers deposit accounts, credit cards, mortgages, home equity products, consumer and business loans, payment services, treasury management, brokerage services and investment advice.