Bank of America shares close little changed on Friday, bank seeks to double consumer market share in the United States, CEO says

Bank of America Corp’s (BAC) Chief Executive Officer, Brian Moynihan, told the Financial Times that the Wall Street bank sought to double its consumer market share in the United States. However, he did not provide a time frame for achieving such an objective.

Bank of America shares closed lower for the fifth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Friday. The stock inched down 0.03% ($0.01) to $34.71, after touching an intraday high at $34.94 and an intraday low at $34.60.

Shares of Bank of America Corporation have retreated 1.45% so far in 2020 compared with a 3.06% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2019, Bank of America’s stock went up 42.94%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.

“Our market share in consumer is probably 12, 13, 14 percent, depending on who counts . …  The reality is, you could double that,” Brian Moynihan said in an interview with the Financial Times.

“Other companies that you think might have big consumer markets share – the auto companies, the soft drink companies, the beer companies – they have massively more consumer share [than BofA],” he added.

According to Bank of America’s CEO, a low risk loan portfolio, a strong balance sheet and a deposit base increasing above the industry rate should facilitate the lender’s market share expansion.

Moynihan said the bank would not seek retail growth abroad, since it would take years to build a market share that could provide material deposits or revenue.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 24 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Bank of America Corp’s stock price, have a median target of $37.50, with a high estimate of $48.00 and a low estimate of $30.00. The median estimate represents an 8.04% upside compared to the closing price of $34.71 on January 17th.

The same media also reported that at least 13 out of 26 surveyed investment analysts had rated Bank of America Corp’s stock as “Buy”, while 10 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.