Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Short Interest Up 6.3% in March

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 72,080,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the March 15th total of 67,790,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 40,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on BAC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $39.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Bank of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.29.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $34.61. 45,557,201 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,459,594. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $273.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.14. Bank of America has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $38.35.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.70 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 31.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Roundview Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.5% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 135,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 150.3% during the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 405,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,698,000 after buying an additional 16,319 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter worth $586,000. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter worth $534,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of America

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.