Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) Stock Price

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) had its target price cut by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $63.00 to $62.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.34% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Truist Financial from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “mixed” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Friday. Argus raised their price objective on Truist Financial from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $57.00 to $51.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.85.

Truist Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TFC traded up $0.52 on Monday, hitting $51.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,139,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,882,063. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Truist Financial has a 12-month low of $35.00 and a 12-month high of $56.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.43 and a 200-day moving average of $47.88. The company has a market capitalization of $63.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.89.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The insurance provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Truist Financial had a net margin of 18.14% and a return on equity of 9.55%. Truist Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Truist Financial will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Cynthia B. Powell sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.49, for a total value of $183,715.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,010.83. This trade represents a 83.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Baron Maguire sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.13, for a total transaction of $651,690.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,725,811.99. The trade was a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Truist Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Truist Financial by 148.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 23,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 14,093 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 39.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 111,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,575,000 after purchasing an additional 31,454 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Truist Financial in the second quarter worth about $575,000. AXA S.A. grew its position in Truist Financial by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 26,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 4,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in Truist Financial by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 6,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Truist Financial

Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company that provides a broad range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, Truist Bank, and other operating units. The company offers traditional retail banking products and services such as deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and credit and debit card services. Truist also serves commercial clients with middle-market and corporate lending, treasury and payment solutions, and specialty finance products.

Beyond core banking, Truist operates wealth management, asset management, insurance and capital markets businesses.