5 Best Bank Stocks to Buy Now

2. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a provider of banking and financial products and services through its subsidiaries. The company serves individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments across the globe.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) has a five-year trailing return of 12%, and a 10-year trailing return of 19.2% as of this August. The company’s EPS is expected to grow by 8.1% over the next three to five years, and it currently holds a one-year dividend growth rate of 16.7%.

RBC Capital’s Gerard Cassidy holds an ‘Outperform’ rating on shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) as of July 19. The analyst also has a $40 price target on the stock.

As of the close of the second quarter, 99 hedge funds were long Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), unchanged from the previous quarter. Their total stake values were $35.9 billion and $45.4 billion respectively.

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, mentioned Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in its second quarter 2022 investor letter. Here’s what it said:

“In the second quarter we made a sizable add to our position in Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) as our bank holdings have significant leverage to rising interest rates. The Fed, unfortunately, was late to realize inflation’s magnitude, maintaining for far too long that inflationary pressures were merely transitory. This mistake caused inflation to accelerate, necessitating a larger intervention than if the Fed had moved sooner.”