Disney's CFO Departure All Part Of The Plan, BofA Says

In a report published Tuesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen reiterated a Buy rating and $130 price target on Walt Disney Co DIS. Jay Rasulo is to step down as the company's CFO, effective June 30.

While a successor is yet to be announced, Mr. Rasulo's contract of employment with Walt Disney expired on January 31. Therefore, his stepping down as CFO was largely anticipated.

"Mr. Rasulo's departure comes amidst ongoing succession planning at DIS, most notably the February 2015 appointment of Tom Staggs to Chief Operating Officer. This move is now widely viewed as a key stepping stone for Mr. Staggs to ultimately become Chief Executive Officer upon (current CEO) Bob Iger's retirement (in mid-2018)," the Bank of America report stated.

Although the stock is currently trading at a discount, the analyst believes that the improvement in visibility heading into the latter half of FY15 is likely to help narrow this discount. The company has been witnessing acceleration in its Parks business, while the outlook for Studio has been improving, as are capital returns and the Media Networks business.

Shares of Disney closed Monday at $110.94, up 0.52 percent.