Bank of America, 15 Other Banks, Cut by Deutsche

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Bank of America (BAC) and 15 other banks saw third quarter estimates slashed in a report published Wednesday by Deutsche Bank analysts, though they also upgraded three stocks, and arguing the recent selloff in the sector has created buying opportunities.

Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O'Connor's biggest downward revision went to Bank of America. O'Connor now sees the bank earning just 30 cents per share in the third quarter versus his previous estimate of 65 cents--a 55% reduction. O'Connor is still above the 22 cent consensus estimate.

The next biggest cut went to Citigroup, which O'Connor sees earning 68 cents per share, as opposed to the 93 cents he had previously predicted--a 27% differential. O'Connor is 28% below consensus estimates of 95% per share.

Other big downward revisions went to Zions Bancorporation(ZION), Regions Financial(RF) and Comerica(CMA). Compared to consensus estimates, O'Connor is most bullish on Bank of America and Regions, while he is most bearish on Citigroup and SunTrust(STI).

O'Connor raised his recommendation to "buy" from "hold" on KeyCorp(KEY), Regions Financial and SunTrust, while downgrading Comerica to "hold" from "buy." He cited strong potential for share buybacks at KeyCorp and low valuations at both Regions and SunTrust. In lowering his recommendation on Comerica, he pointed to sluggish loan growth.

-- Written by Dan Freed in New York.

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