Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Downgraded by Hsbc Global Res to Hold

Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Argus lowered their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. HSBC lowered Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday. Barclays cut their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.33.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $47.17 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.60 and its 200 day moving average is $43.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $355.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. Bank of America has a one year low of $33.07 and a one year high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.83 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.56%. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% in the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.