Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Down 3% – What’s Next?

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)’s share price traded down 3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $56.07 and last traded at $56.2170. 43,268,518 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 16% from the average daily volume of 37,245,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.96.

Bank of America News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha analysts described Bank of America’s core earnings as strong and viewed the recent selloff as an attractive entry point. Another analysis upgraded BAC as a value play, supporting the case that the shares are undervalued. Bank of America: Strong Core Earnings Make The Recent Selloff Attractive Bank of America: A Decent Value Play Amid A Sharp Selloff
• Positive Sentiment: A hawkish Federal Reserve could provide a mechanical benefit to BAC’s net interest income by supporting loan yields, although the ultimate benefit depends on deposit pricing and funding costs. A Hawkish Fed Is Bad News for Borrowers. It’s Good News for This Bank.
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies maintained a Buy rating but lowered its BAC price target from $75 to $70. The revised target still implies approximately 25% upside from the referenced $56.01 price, but the reduction signals more cautious expectations. Jefferies Lowers Bank of America Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America plans to hire 1,000 additional apprentices over two years and invest $150 million in workforce development over five years. The initiative may strengthen hiring and its community profile, though it also represents an incremental investment. Bank of America Plans Additional Apprentice Hiring
• Negative Sentiment: Management reportedly sees less-robust markets in the third quarter, which could weigh on investment-banking and trading revenue. CEO Brian Moynihan also emphasized the need to bring inflation under control, highlighting ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. Bank of America Sees Less-Robust Markets in Q3

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer downgraded Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Bank of America from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $62.50 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Bank of America from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bank of America from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.88.

Bank of America Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $392.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.78 and its 200 day moving average is $55.99.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 17.56%.The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.36%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 167.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 69.9% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Bank of America by 199.1% in the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, businesses, institutional investors and governments. Its operations include consumer banking, credit and debit cards, mortgages, small-business banking, commercial banking, investment banking, securities trading and investment management.

The company provides consumer and wealth-management services through Bank of America and Merrill, including deposit accounts, lending, brokerage, retirement planning, financial advice and private banking.