3 Metrics That Make Bank of America Corp (BAC) A Buy

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Investors need to be careful about assumptions. One popular assumption that I’ve heard in the news is that big banks will have to deal with years of problems before they can return to their glory days. I’ve written about Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) before, and to be blunt, the company has surprised me with the speed of their recovery. Less than a year ago, Bank of America was struggling in multiple areas like consumer real estate, mortgage, and home equity loans, just to name a few. Today the story is very different. Bank of America is working through its problems, and even after a decent run in the stock, the shares appear to offer significant value.

Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)Bankers Get A Bad Rap
Admittedly I’m not suggesting that Bank of America is the best bank in the country. In my opinion, that title is a tie between BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB). These two banks have consistently turned in superior organic growth relative to their peers. In the “big bank” comparison, most investors would point to Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) as a better option than Bank of America. Others might suggest that Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) could be a good turnaround candidate. However, there are three different reasons that Bank of America appears to be a good opportunity at this time, and two of the three are major changes over the last year.

Can You Believe This?
If I told you that four companies reported EPS growth of 29%, 22.58%, 15.4%, and 25%, would you be interested? How about if I told you those were the numbers reported by BB&T, Citigroup, U.S. Bancorp, and Wells Fargo respectively? Analysts are also suggesting this is just the start of positive earnings from these companies. In the next few years, analysts expect BB&T and Citigroup to grow earnings by 10.87% and 11.65% respectively. By comparison, U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo are expected to grow EPS by 9.1% and 9.33%.

If you can believe it, Bank of America is expected to outperform all of the above. Analysts are calling for 18.76% EPS growth from the company over the next few years. What is even more impressive is, Bank of America sells for a forward P/E ratio of 11.8, which makes its PEG ratio just 0.63. By comparison, BB&T sells for a PEG of 0.95, Citigroup is at 0.78, U.S. Bancorp sells for 1.18, and Wells Fargo’s PEG is 1.03. The bottom line is, if Bank of America can meet projections, this is one of the cheapest bank stocks available relative to its potential earnings growth.

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