Truist Financial Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:TFC)

Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 16,975 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 82% compared to the average volume of 9,321 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 4,966 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $229,429.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $519,565.20. This represents a 30.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William H. Rogers, Jr. bought 34,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $1,659,780.80. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 691,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,576,860.56. The trade was a 5.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Truist Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Truist Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,289 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 36,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 5,103 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Truist Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 969,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,036,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Truist Financial by 1,028.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 456,816 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,817,000 after purchasing an additional 416,317 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.28% of the company’s stock.

Truist Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TFC traded up $2.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.63. 15,702,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,280,771. Truist Financial has a 12-month low of $34.23 and a 12-month high of $49.06. The company has a market cap of $63.23 billion, a PE ratio of -33.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5,047,370 billion. Truist Financial had a positive return on equity of 9.35% and a negative net margin of 4.89%. Truist Financial’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Truist Financial will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial’s payout ratio is currently -145.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Truist Financial from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Compass Point raised their price target on Truist Financial from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.95.

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.