- Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck upgraded Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $49, down from $51.
- The price target implied an upside of 13.7%.
- Graseck downgraded the U.S. banks and consumer finance sector to In-Line from Attractive, saying "war changes everything."
- Graseck upgraded Bank of America to Equal-weight, citing its higher quality loan portfolio and above-average sensitivity to higher rates.
- Bank of America's long-held responsible growth strategy comes with tighter underwriting standards and strong credit quality.
- Chair and CEO Brian Moynihan acknowledged that BAC grew loans by $51 billion and added $100 billion of deposits in Q4, further strengthening its position as the leader in retail deposits.
- BAC earned a record $32 billion in 2021, with every business line solidly contributing.
- CFO Alastair Borthwick agreed that BAC significantly grew loans and deposits, which helped increase net interest income by $1.2 billion despite a challenging rate environment. Asset quality remained strong, with loss rates at historically low levels as the global economy improved.
- Price Action: BAC shares traded lower by 1.46% at $43.09 on the last check Monday.
- Photo via Wikimedia
