On Wednesday, Bank of America Corp. (BAC) (BofA) announced the appointment of a new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Charles H. Noski, effective May 11. The appointment was one of a kind since BofA is well known for promoting executives to such positions from within the organization, whereas, Noski comes from outside the company. Previously, Noski was serving Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) as CFO.
Alongside, Noski will join BofA with a rich work experience from renowned organizations. He has also served AT&T Inc. (T), Hughes Electronics, a wing of Hughes Communications Inc. (HUGH) and United Technologies Corp. (UTX) as CFO.
Noski has also served as Director to Morgan Stanley (MS), Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD), Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) and many more organizations, and also served The Blackstone Group (BX) as Senior Advisor. Hence, Noski appears to be a good fit for the designation, with his experience and sound knowledge of finance.
Noski will be in charge of all finance functions along with Corporate Treasury, Global Corporate Strategy Planning and Development, Investor Relations, Corporate Investments and Global Principal Investments.
Estimate Trend Revision
Over the last 30 days, six of the 20 analysts covering the stock have lowered their estimates for the first quarter of 2010, while four upward revisions were witnessed. Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter is operating earnings of 9 cents per share, which would be down by 83% from the year-ago quarter.
The fewer number of upward estimate revisions for the first quarter indicates a likelihood of downward pressure on the performance of the stock in the near term.
With respect to earnings surprises, the stock has not been steady over the last four quarters, with two positive surprises. However, the average remained positive at 201.6%. This implies that BofA has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 201.6% over that period.
While there were rumors lately about BofA appointing executives from outside the organization, the decision appears to have been taken well in time. By taking such steps, BofA is attempting to enhance its relations with the federal and other regulators and also to regain its creditors and shareholders’ confidence that was marred by the recent investigations that have taken place regarding the bank’s Merrill Lynch acquisition.
Hence, this management restructuring is expected to be a positive driver for BofA in the upcoming quarters. The company is set to release its first quarter 2010 earnings results before the market opens on Friday.
On Wednesday, the shares of BofA closed at $19.40, up 1.4%, on the New York Stock Exchange.
Read the full analyst report on “BAC”
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Read the full analyst report on “HUGH”
Read the full analyst report on “UTX”
Read the full analyst report on “MS”
Read the full analyst report on “APD”
Read the full analyst report on “ADP”
Read the full analyst report on “BX”
Read the full analyst report on “NOC”
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