Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) Short Interest Down 20.7% in December

Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,100,000 shares, a drop of 20.7% from the December 15th total of 20,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Compass Point boosted their target price on Truist Financial from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Truist Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.89.

Truist Financial Stock Performance

Shares of TFC traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,426,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,360,584. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.46. Truist Financial has a 52-week low of $34.23 and a 52-week high of $49.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $60.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.69, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.08.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. Truist Financial had a negative net margin of 4.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.35%. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.05 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Truist Financial will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently -145.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Truist Financial

In related news, CEO William H. Rogers, Jr. purchased 34,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $1,659,780.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,576,860.56. This trade represents a 5.20 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 4,966 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $229,429.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,565.20. The trade was a 30.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TFC. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 3.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,511,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $64,638,000 after buying an additional 50,637 shares during the period. Cadence Bank raised its stake in Truist Financial by 101.6% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 185,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,920,000 after buying an additional 93,322 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Truist Financial by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,932,261 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $346,957,000 after acquiring an additional 299,196 shares in the last quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 66.4% during the third quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 154,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,609,000 after purchasing an additional 61,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 282,607 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,087,000 after purchasing an additional 27,408 shares in the last quarter. 71.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Truist Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corporation, a financial services company, provides banking and trust services in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer Banking and Wealth, Corporate and Commercial Banking, and Insurance Holdings.Its deposit products include noninterest-bearing checking, interest-bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.