J.P. Morgan Neutral On Capital One (COF)

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has a Neutral rating and a $52 price target on shares of Capital One COF. In a note to clients, J.P. Morgan writes, "COF's managed data release summarizes growth and credit metrics corresponding directly to key assumptions of our published earnings model. The release covers a range of assets but lacks the detail of the master trust reports (available later). The trust tracks performance of card loans within COF's securitizations." J.P. Morgan goes on to say, "During March, COF's U.S. credit card portfolio shrank 167bps sequentially to $50.6B. The decline is primarily explained by seasonality (i.e., paydown of holiday balances and increased consumer liquidity from tax refunds). Over the past 5 years, COF's U.S. Card balances have declined 189bps on average in March. We expect growth trends to remain below normal throughout 2011 as consumers remain more cautious (excluding the impact of portfolio acquisitions)." Shares of COF are down 33 cents to $49.92, a loss of 0.66% on nearly 2 million shares.