Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BAC. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Bank of America from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.88.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $48.21 on Wednesday. Bank of America has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $57.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.15 and a 200 day moving average of $52.28. The stock has a market cap of $344.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.28.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The business had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 94,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total value of $4,412,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 170,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,988,436.96. The trade was a 35.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $2,491,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 227,973 shares in the company, valued at $11,357,614.86. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 227,832 shares of company stock valued at $11,094,960. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Bank of America by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 651,076,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,809,225,000 after buying an additional 23,351,183 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,371,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,448,816,000 after buying an additional 14,275,810 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth $5,091,641,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 57,619,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,169,062,000 after acquiring an additional 2,929,779 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 53,783,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,958,110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,833 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America formed a Private Capital M&A Group to help private equity firms exit portfolio companies — a move that can drive higher advisory fees and deal flow in investment banking if it wins mandates. Bank Of America Launches Private Capital M&A Unit
• Positive Sentiment: Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank rolled out an AI?Powered Meeting Journey for advisors — a scalable productivity tool that could improve advisor efficiency, client retention and margins across wealth management. This supports recurring-fee growth and cost savings over time. Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank Launch AI-Powered Meeting Journey
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes and pieces highlighting BofA’s positioning in financials/XLF (and as an XLF holding) underline its role as a core bank exposure but don’t change fundamentals immediately — useful context for sector flows. Financials Are Down Big This Year. The XLF Affords an Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports note BofA is balancing an Epstein-related settlement with continued investment in AI/tools — a combination of one-time costs and strategic tech spend. The net impact depends on settlement size, timing and revenue/cost benefits from tech initiatives. Bank Of America Balances Epstein Settlement With New AI Advisor Tools
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy and $60 price target — a fresh buy-side vote that can support sentiment and attract investors. Jefferies Starts Coverage: Buy $60 PT
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs trimmed its price target on BAC to $57 (from $67) while keeping a Buy — the cut reduces near-term upside in sell?side consensus and can pressure sentiment. Goldman Sachs Lowers Bank of America (BAC) Price Target to $57
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing sector headwinds — weaker net interest margin pressure, a soft mortgage market and a YTD lag in financials — continue to weigh on bank multiples and likely cap near-term upside for BAC until NIM or deal pipelines improve. Financials Are Down Big This Year. The XLF Affords an Opportunity

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.