UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Downgrades BB&T Corporation to Neutral, Reiterates $31 PT

In a report published Friday, Goldman Sachs Group downgraded its rating on BB&T Corporation

from Buy to Neutral, and reiterated its $31.00 price target. Goldman Sachs noted, “We downgrade BBT to Neutral from Buy, as we see an increasing potential for consensus 2013/2014 EPS estimates to be revised lower, as (1) BBT would need to grow “core” EPS 15%/17% just to offset accretion runoff in 2013/2014, (2) the pace of loan growth is slowing, and (3) remaining expense leverage appears limited. While we appreciate investing for growth (TX) and the willingness to use capital for buybacks could provide offsets, with shares already trading at 10x 2014E EPS, the risk-reward appears balanced in our view. Since added to the Buy List on April 11, 2012, BBT shares are down 2.2% vs. SPX up 6.6%. Over the past 12 months, BBT is up 16% vs. SPX up 14%.” BB&T Corporation closed on Thursday at $29.92.