Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC)

Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 163,742 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 837% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,467 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Truist Financial from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Truist Financial from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC raised their price target on Truist Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Truist Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 3,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.48, for a total transaction of $141,074.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,627.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Truist Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $307,787,000. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Truist Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,049,000. North Reef Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Truist Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,804,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Truist Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,498,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 342.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,526,939 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,296,000 after buying an additional 1,955,448 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.28% of the company’s stock.

Truist Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of TFC opened at $39.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.62, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07. Truist Financial has a 52 week low of $26.49 and a 52 week high of $40.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. Truist Financial had a positive return on equity of 9.15% and a negative net margin of 4.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Truist Financial will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently -157.58%.

Truist Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corporation, a financial services company, provides banking and trust services in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer Banking and Wealth, Corporate and Commercial Banking, and Insurance Holdings. Its deposit products include noninterest-bearing checking, interest-bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.