UPDATE: Bank of America Downgrades US Bancorp to Neutral on Comparative Upside Outlook

Bank of America reduced its rating on US Bancorp USB from Buy to Neutral and reduced its price target from $37 to $35. Bank of America noted, "We are downgrading USB to Neutral from Buy. We are also lowering our PO to $35 from $37 as we believe that USB's above average valuations will come under pressure based on a declining ROTE that we forecast. While we expect USB's fundamentals to remain best-in-class, we see better upside in money center names C (30% to our PO; here) and JPM (16%; here), and prefer PNC and WFC in the regional banks. Investors have gravitated toward the relative “safety” of the regional banks given the lower global macro/US policy risk associated with these names and better earnings visibility vs. the money centers." US Bancorp closed at $34.68 on Tuesday.