UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades Protective Corporation Life to Neutral on Earnings Upside Potential

Bank of America upgraded Protective Life Corporation

from Underperform to Neutral and raised the price objective from $30.00 to $33.00. Bank of America commented, "We are upgrading Protective Life from Underperform to Neutral, and raising our Price Objective from $30 to $33 due to the consistency of operating results, and our expectation that management could beat its base case plan for 2013/2014. PL has beaten its yearly plan in each of the last three years. We see slight upside to management's base case plan for 2013 and 2014, even absent an acquisition. … While we are marginally more positive on PL's return profile, we still prefer the franchise life insurers due to their favorable valuation and higher growth prospects." Protective Life Corporation closed at $32.18 on Tuesday.