Bank of America (BAC) Gets Mixed Response from Analysts After Dividend Denial

To say analysts are mixed in their response to Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) being denied the opportunity to raise its dividend would be an understatement, to say the least.

It's nutty when you start reading the comments by the analysts, which go everywhere from cutting the rating of the stock to looking at the denial as a buying opportunity. Someone in there is wrong, and I would lean towards those on the negative side of the spectrum.

To say that Bank of America is now an opportunity to buy because of the lack of a dividend is ludicrous, as Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) as said, or that shareholders are more interested in other issues surrounding the giant bank, as Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) asserts.

Who cares what the other issues are? An investor could buy banks with increased dividends and enjoy the benefits now. Why hold onto Bank of America while they continue to fix their mess. Wait until it's close to being fixed and invest in them then if you still want to.

But to act as if the release of competitors to boost their dividends is a non-event is bizarre, and shareholders will shrug off those comments and put their money where they feel it's much safer, as in higher-dividend yielding financial institutions.

Bank of America closed Thursday at $13.48, falling $0.17, or 1.25 percent.