Today’s Research Reports on Stocks to Watch: Bank of America and Morgan Stanley
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 19, 2018 / Morgan Stanley shares hit a high the stock hasn't seen in a decade after reporting fourth quarter earnings and after raising its key profitability and efficiency targets. Bank of America also closed up slightly after reporting mixed earnings and revealing it had been hit with a big tax charge.
RDI Initiates Coverage on:
Bank of America Corporation
http://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=BAC
Morgan Stanley
http://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=MS
Bank of America Corporation shares closed up 0.96% on almost 76.5 million shares traded on Thursday. The stock was only 8 cents shy of hitting its 52-week high yesterday. It was on Wednesday that the bank reported its fourth quarter earnings showing a profit of $2.37 billion, or 20 cents a share. A year earlier the bank had reported $4.54 billion. Bank of America said its earnings was affected by a tax-related charge of $2.9 billion. A charge from the new U.S. tax law caused quarterly profit to fall by 48%. Adjusted earnings per share of 47 cents was higher than the 44 cents that analysts had expected. Adjusted revenue of $21.4 billion was below the expectations however of $21.531 billion. CEO Brian Moynihan remarked, "We gained market share across our businesses while carefully managing credit, risk exposures, and expenses. We invested in technology, client engagement, and in our own team, including the $1,000 bonus we announced last month for 145,000 employees."
Access RDI's Bank of America Corporation Research Report at:
http://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=BAC
Morgan Stanley shares closed up a modest 0.89% on almost 14 million shares traded on Thursday. Despite the modest close, shares hit a new high of $55.99 during intra-day trading. This was the highest the stock has traded in a decade. Yesterday, in its strategic update, the company raised its key profitability and efficiency targets. CEO James Gorman in his update raised annual pretax profit margins of 26% to 28% for wealth management and returns on equity of 10% to 13%. He also included a cost-to-revenue ratio of 73% or less in the coming years. Analysts weren't happy with the numbers during a conference call. "We are all in on delivering better results than what we've publicly said," Gorman remarked. "On the other hand, we don't have credibility as a management team if we put out things which are artificially designed to boost confidence." Morgan Stanley reported its fourth quarter results recently that beat what analysts had expected. Adjusted fourth-quarter profit was $.168 billion, or 84 cents a share. Analysts had been waiting for 77 cents. That figure is excluding the one-time charge of $1.2 billion resulting from the tax overhaul. Revenue at $9.5 billion was ahead of the $9.2 billion expected by Wall Street.
Access RDI's Morgan Stanley Research Report at:
http://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=MS
Our Actionable Research on Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.
Research Driven Investing
We are committed to providing relevant and actionable information for the self-directed investor. Our research is reputed for being a leader in trusted, in-depth analysis vital for informed strategic trading decisions. The nimble investor can leverage our analysis and collective expertise to execute a disciplined approach to stock selection.
RDInvesting has not been compensated; directly or indirectly; for producing or publishing this document.
Disclaimer: This article is written by an independent contributor of RDInvesting.com and Nadia Noorani, a CFA® charter holder, has provided necessary guidance in preparing the document templates. RDInvesting.com is neither a registered broker-dealer nor a registered investment advisor. For more information please read our full disclaimer at www.rdinvesting.com/disclaimer.
CONTACT
For any questions, inquiries, or comments reach out to us directly at:
Address:
Research Driven Investing, Unit #901 511 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10011
Email:
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
SOURCE: RDInvesting.com
