Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) Price Target Lowered to $63.00 at Morgan Stanley

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) had its price target dropped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $69.00 to $63.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 37.31% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on TFC. Barclays lowered Truist Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.75.

Truist Financial Trading Up 2.8%

Truist Financial stock traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.88. 5,507,323 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,937,451. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Truist Financial has a 52-week low of $33.56 and a 52-week high of $56.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.58.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.09). Truist Financial had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 17.09%.The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Truist Financial will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 15.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Truist Financial

In other Truist Financial news, CFO Michael Baron Maguire sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.13, for a total transaction of $651,690.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 74,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,725,811.99. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Cynthia B. Powell sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.49, for a total transaction of $183,715.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,010.83. The trade was a 83.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Truist Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Truist Financial by 4,821.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 14,172,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $697,428,000 after purchasing an additional 13,884,480 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 13,511.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,386,831 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $474,886,000 after buying an additional 10,310,523 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Truist Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $502,340,000. American Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 781.3% during the 4th quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,384,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $166,527,000 after buying an additional 3,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,500,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $516,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,867,449 shares during the period. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Truist Financial

Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company that provides a broad range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, Truist Bank, and other operating units. The company offers traditional retail banking products and services such as deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and credit and debit card services. Truist also serves commercial clients with middle-market and corporate lending, treasury and payment solutions, and specialty finance products.

Beyond core banking, Truist operates wealth management, asset management, insurance and capital markets businesses.