Some analysts bullish on Bank of America

We've become accustomed to dour assessments of Bank of America, which continues to trade well below book value.

But at these levels, some analysts think the stock is compelling. A Forbes columnist puts it this way: Bank of America "may be one of the best buys among the financials as its stock regains its footing in spite of general investor wariness towards the major banks."

To be sure, the bank seems to be executing on key initiatives, such as the initiative to exit non-core businesses and slash costs via Project New BAC. We'll likely see more in these areas soon. The next possible step may indeed be sales of Merrill Lynch overseas units, continuing in the vein of the much reported sale of its international wealth management unit.

But the main factor motivating the bulls continues to be valuation. It's just so cheap. I've touched on this theme often. My sense is that if the bank can get the consumer side past the eight ball on the foreclosure front and if it can make headway toward resolving key legal disputes, the relative bullish case will be even stronger. As of right now, the bulls-bears war for this stock continues with no real winner.

For more:
- here's the article

Related articles:
Bulls vs. bears on banks
Analysts pare estimates for second quarter