Empowered Funds LLC Has $9.93 Million Stock Holdings in Beacon Financial Corporation $BBT

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Beacon Financial Corporation (NYSE:BBT) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 331,066 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,180 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.39% of Beacon Financial worth $9,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BBT. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Beacon Financial by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Beacon Financial by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Beacon Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Beacon Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new position in Beacon Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Beacon Financial Stock Performance

BBT opened at $30.56 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15 and a beta of 0.55. Beacon Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.81 and a 1 year high of $32.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Beacon Financial had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 8.96%.The firm had revenue of $219.19 million for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Beacon Financial Corporation will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Beacon Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Beacon Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Beacon Financial’s payout ratio is 106.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Beacon Financial from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised Beacon Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Hovde Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Beacon Financial in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded Beacon Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Beacon Financial from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Beacon Financial Company Profile

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.