Goldman Upgrades Ameriprise Financial (AMP)

Goldman Sachs is upgrading shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. AMP to Buy from Neutral, and putting a $73 price target on shares. In a note to clients, Goldman writes, "We upgrade Ameriprise to Buy from Neutral, with a $73 price target, implying 18% upside from current levels. We view AMP as a direct beneficiary of the improving retail investor risk appetite, which further enhances AMP's structural shift toward higher ROE businesses and is not fully reflected in the Street's EPS estimates or the stock's valuation. We raise our 2011/2012/2013 EPS estimates to $5.70/$6.45/$7.23 from $5.50/$6.20/$6.90 on stronger industry flows, better equity markets so far in 1Q and positive operating leverage amid stronger financial advisor productivity and continued cost synergies from the Columbia deal." Shares of AMP gained 68 cents yesterday to close at $61.89, a gain of 1.1%>