BAC vs STE Stock Comparison
STE currently leads BAC in this stock comparison, with AIQ scores of 63 vs 47. The clearest difference is momentum, while BAC has the stronger value profile.
What is the main difference between BAC and STE?
STE leads the current stock comparison as STERIS plc, with the clearest separation coming from momentum and the broader AIQ evidence mix.
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
Bank of America Corporation vs STERIS plc
STE leads
STE leads by 16 AIQ points, primarily on Momentum and Risk Resilience. Wall Street currently favors BAC on target upside.
Fragile: 3 of 6 evidence groups support STE, and its current signal state is conflicted.
Bank of America Corporation
STERIS plc
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors STE over BAC, 63 versus 47 as of Oct 31, 2026. STE's advantage is driven primarily by stronger momentum and risk resilience, while BAC holds the stronger value profile. STE also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average, though analyst target upside currently favors BAC. 3 of 6 covered evidence groups favor STE today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: only 3 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. STE lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 16 points over 30 sessions.
Compare Bank of America Corporation and STERIS plc across the Algovestiq AIQ Score, valuation, quality, momentum, risk, technicals and analyst expectations.
Performance over time
Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes.
Total return comparison
Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested
Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.
Compare BAC and STE against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
AIQ Factor Divergence
Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.
- Momentum26 vs 83STE +57
- Risk Resilience60 vs 71STE +11
- Value57 vs 48BAC +9
- Quality49 vs 57STE +8
3 of 6 evidence groups favor STE. STE’s edge is concentrated in momentum and risk resilience; BAC keeps a meaningful value edge.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-28, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-27.
Largest factor move: Risk Resilience +1, not enough on its own to move the overall score.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 3 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Momentum -1, not enough on its own to move the overall score.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 3 active signals are unchanged.
STE's lead was unchanged in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — BAC and STE both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
STE (STERIS plc): the stronger current systematic profile, led by momentum and risk resilience.
BAC (Bank of America Corporation): the counter-case, on value, fundamentals, valuation.
The AIQ Score and Wall Street therefore point in different directions on this pair.
Which one fits your objective
The same two names rank differently depending on what you are optimizing for. All six reads are shown at once — none of them is hidden behind a toggle.
Balanced
STESTE on the overall AIQ Score, which weights Quality and Value most heavily.
Growth
STESTE on combined revenue and EPS growth.
Value
BACBAC on the peer-relative Value factor, by 9 points.
Momentum
STESTE on the Momentum factor, by 57 points.
Lower downside
STESTE on Risk Resilience, by 11 points.
Analyst upside
BACBAC on implied upside to the consensus price target.
AIQ vs Wall Street
The model and the Street disagree here: AIQ favors STE, analyst targets favor BAC. That disagreement is the most useful thing on this page.
| Measure | BAC | STE | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Implied upside to target | +32.5% | +19.5% | BAC has more room |
| Target dispersion | +22.6% | +2.2% | Lower is tighter analyst agreement |
| Consensus | Buy | Buy | Context, not a primary driver |
| Analysts covering | 11 | 3 | Higher coverage generally improves confidence |
The two are measuring different things. The AIQ Score reads current fundamentals, valuation, trend and risk; analyst targets price forward expectations. A divergence of this kind is either a contrarian opportunity or a sign the model is missing something already priced in — it is worth resolving before acting on either.
Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions. Dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.
Dividend growth
| Dividend metric | BAC | STE |
|---|---|---|
| 5Y dividend CAGR | 8.45% | 9.28% |
| 2020 regular DPS | $0.720 | $1.540 |
| 2025 regular DPS | $1.080 | $2.400 |
| Years increased | 5 | 5 |
| No cut in window | Yes | Yes |
| Cohort rank | #133 | #117 |
STE grew its split-adjusted regular dividend faster over 2020–2025 — 9.28% a year against BAC's 8.45%. Neither company reduced its regular dividend in any year of the window.
Yield and payout ratio shown elsewhere on this page are current values, not part of the study window.
Split-adjusted regular dividends per share, 2020–2025, excluding special dividends. Research as of Sep 19, 2026.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
3 of 6 covered evidence groups favor STE. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | STE | 47 vs 63 |
| Fundamentals | BACon balance | revenue growth -3.3% vs -6%; EPS growth -23.8% vs -8.5%; TTM ROE 10.7% vs 11.3%; gross margin 60.4% vs 44.4%; operating margin 22.4% vs 18.9% — BAC takes 3 of 5 decided legs, not all of them |
| Valuation | BAC | Value 57 vs 48 |
| Technicals | STE | Price vs 50-day -12.1% vs 3.2%; vs 200-day -7.5% vs 1.7% |
| Risk Resilience | STE | Risk Resilience 60 vs 71 |
| Analyst expectations | BAC | Target upside 32.5% vs 19.5% |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of BAC and STE and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.
- The AIQ gap is wide at 16 points. (supports the conclusion holding)
- Only 3 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- Signal direction runs against the verdict: the leader is net-bearish while the laggard is net-bullish. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on STE.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Jun 29 – Oct 28STE lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 16 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- STE +16
- 47 vs 63
- 7 sessions ago
- STE +17
- 47 vs 64
- 30 sessions ago
- STE +14
- 41 vs 55
- 90 sessions ago
- STE +9
- 50 vs 59
The lead changed hands 8 times in this window, most recently on Sep 14 when STE moved ahead of BAC.
AIQ Signal Divergence
Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.
2 bullish / 0 bearish / 1 neutral
Only BAC
- Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
- Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (3.51%)
1 bullish / 2 bearish, conflicted
Only STE
- Death Cross Active — bearish, trend, long horizon (2.25%)
- RSI Overbought — bearish, momentum, short horizon
Both carry 1 more signal that do not separate them: MACD Bullish Crossover.
STE leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.
Price vs model alignment
Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price -2.21%, AIQ 0 points).
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price -2.16%, AIQ 0 points).
What would flip this result
A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.
- 1BAC closes the Momentum gap — currently 57 points behind, the largest single contributor to STE's edge.
- 2BAC's Bollinger Band Squeeze turns directional — it is neutral today and would confirm a change in trend.
- 3STE's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 bullish and 2 bearish rules at once.
- 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
The full evidence
Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.
Fundamentals
BAC leads on balance| Metric | BAC | STE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth (YoY) | -3.3% | -6% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -23.8% | -8.5% |
| Gross margin | 60.4% | 44.4% |
| Operating margin | 22.4% | 18.9% |
| Return on equity (TTM) | 10.7% | 11.3% |
| Debt to equity | 1.28 | 0.28 |
Performance
STE leads 4 of 6 windows| Metric | BAC | STE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | 0.1% | 3.3% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -6.6% | 8.9% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | -17.6% | -1.1% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | -3.8% | 7.6% |
| Year to date | -7.5% | -9.8% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | -3.3% | -5% |
Technicals
STE has the stronger structure| Metric | BAC | STE |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 31.2 | 72 |
| ADX (14) | 49.4 | 32.7 |
| Price vs 50-day | -12.1% | 3.2% |
| Price vs 200-day | -7.5% | 1.7% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 20.8% | 25.3% |
Risk
STE is the more resilient| Metric | BAC | STE |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 0.73 | 0.4 |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.25 | -0.23 |
| Sortino ratio | -0.32 | -0.34 |
| Max drawdown | -22.3% | -25.8% |
| Current drawdown | -21.5% | -14.8% |
| Annualized volatility | 21.8% | 26% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -2.5% | -2.7% |
Straight answers
Each answer is regenerated from the current snapshot, not written once and left to age.
Which is better, BAC or STE?
On the Algovestiq AIQ Score, STE is the stronger of the two as of Oct 31, 2026, scoring 63 against BAC's 47. The edge comes from momentum and risk resilience. BAC is not without a case — it holds the better value profile, which matters more if that is the objective you are optimizing for. This is a systematic score, not a recommendation: it ranks the two on the same evidence, it does not know your holding period or tax position.
Is BAC or STE the better buy right now?
STE carries the stronger systematic profile as of Oct 31, 2026, and the comparison is rated Fragile — 3 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. A Fragile rating means the conclusion is sensitive: only 3 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. Treat the lead as provisional.
Why does the AIQ Score favor STE over BAC?
The composite weights Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk Resilience. STE leads Momentum by 57 points; STE leads Risk Resilience by 11 points; BAC leads Value by 9 points. Where the two split, the factor with the larger weight carries the result.
Which has more analyst upside, BAC or STE?
Analyst price targets imply +32.5% upside for BAC and +19.5% for STE, so the Street currently favors BAC. That points the opposite way to the AIQ Score, which favors STE. The two are measuring different things: the model reads current fundamentals, valuation, trend and risk; the Street is pricing forward expectations. A divergence of this kind is either a contrarian opportunity or a sign the model is missing something the analysts have already priced — it is the single most useful row on this page to investigate. Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions, and dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.
Which is better value, BAC or STE?
BAC is the better-valued of the two on the peer-relative Value factor. BAC on the peer-relative Value factor, by 9 points. The Value factor reads valuation relative to sector peers and to the company's own fundamental quality, so it is not the same as simply having the lower multiple.
Which has stronger growth, BAC or STE?
STE on combined revenue and EPS growth. Growth here is measured on reported revenue and earnings, not on forward estimates — it describes what the businesses have delivered, not what the Street expects next.
Which has stronger momentum, BAC or STE?
STE on the Momentum factor, by 57 points. Momentum is one of the four weighted factors in the AIQ composite. It has documented persistence over three- to twelve-month horizons, which makes it a timing input rather than a reason to hold something indefinitely.
Which is riskier, BAC or STE?
STE is the more resilient of the two, so the other name carries the higher downside risk. STE on Risk Resilience, by 11 points. Risk Resilience is a weighted factor in the composite; position sizing usually responds to it more usefully than the buy/avoid decision does.
Is BAC more profitable than STE?
The profitability evidence is mixed: gross margin 60.4% vs 44.4%; operating margin 22.4% vs 18.9%; ttm roe 10.7% vs 11.3%. BAC leads on two measures and STE on one measure, and there is no single profitability composite that resolves the split — which of the two reads as "more profitable" depends on whether you weight pricing power or operating leverage.
Is STE's lead over BAC getting stronger or weaker?
STE lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 16 points over 30 sessions. This is measured from 120 daily comparison snapshots between 2026-06-29 and 2026-10-28. The lead has changed hands 8 times in that window, most recently on 2026-09-14, when STE moved ahead of BAC.
What would change the BAC vs STE verdict?
The result is a state, not a forecast, so it changes when the underlying evidence changes. Concretely: BAC closes the Momentum gap — currently 57 points behind, the largest single contributor to STE's edge; BAC's Bollinger Band Squeeze turns directional — it is neutral today and would confirm a change in trend; STE's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 bullish and 2 bearish rules at once; a regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
What do the current signals say about BAC and STE?
BAC: 2 bullish / 0 bearish / 1 neutral. STE: 1 bullish / 2 bearish, conflicted. A conflicted state means bullish and bearish rules are active on the same name at once — the technical evidence is not pointing one way, and a decision taken on it carries more timing risk. The most decision-relevant rule on BAC is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon). On STE it is Death Cross Active (bearish, long horizon).
Compare BAC and STE with others
Continue your research
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How this comparison is scored
The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.
The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.
How to use side-by-side comparison →This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.