Bank of America Neutral On StanCorp Financial Group (SFG)

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has a Neutral rating and a $51 price target on shares of StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. SFG after the company pre-announced earnings. In the research note, Bank of America writes, "After the market close, StanCorp announced preliminary 1Q operating earnings of $0.75-$0.77 per share (vs $1.13, down 32%-34%), widely missing both the consensus and our estimate (both $1.19). Additionally, management stated that it is unlikely to reach the lower end of its 2011 operating EPS guidance of $4.80 -$5.10. The company will release official results after the market closes on 4/25 (as originally planned), and will hold its quarterly earnings conference call on 4/26 at 12:00 PM EST." Shares of SFG lost 28 cents yesterday to close at $45.37.