Bank of America price target raised to $53 from $48 at Argus

Argus raised the firm’s price target on Bank of America (BAC) to $53 from $48 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its Q4 earnings beat. The company’s results included a 3% rise in average loans year over year, and a continued sequential improvement in net interest income, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Bank of America management also continues to focus on what it terms “responsible growth”, which may be seen in the company’s ability to expand its loan portfolio without taking on excessive credit risk and to balance growth across segments so that more volatile businesses such as trading and investment banking do not account for an outsized part of its profits, the firm added.