The Dividend Daily

On Friday Goldman Sachs downgraded BB&T Corporation (BBT) as the analysts expect consensus estimates will be lowered for the regional banker.

Goldman Sachs downgraded BBT from “Buy” to “Neutral” with a price target of $31. This target is a +3.7% upside to Thursday’s closing price of $29.92.

The reason for the likelihood of consensus estimates being lowered is because of a slowdown of loan growth and remaining expense leverage appears limited.

Goldman Sachs revised BBT estimates for the the fourth quarter, full year 2012, 2013 and 2014. The new estimates are 72 cents per share, $2.72 per share, $2.90 per share, and $3.05 per share, respectively. The original estimates were 72 cents per share, $2.71 per share, $2.90 per share, and $3.00 per share.

BB&T shares were down 30 cents, or -1.00%, in premarket trading on Friday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of BB&T (BBT) have a 2.67% dividend yield, based on last night’s price of $29.92. The stock has technical support in the $26-$27 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $31-$32 price levels.

BB&T Corporation (BBT) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.