** Bank of America BAC.N topped estimates on Tuesday for first-quarter profit as interest income grew and volatile markets helped its stock traders rake in a record haul

** Median PT of 24 brokerages covering the stock is $47, with an average rating of a "buy" - data compiled by LSEG

STRONG BALANCE SHEET AND NII GROWTH DRIVE OPTIMISM

** RBC Capital Markets ("outperform," PT: $45) says "given the de-risking of its balance sheet over the last 15-years, we expect BAC to manage through the expected slowing of the U.S. economy and the impact it will have on credit trends without suffering any material adverse impacts to net income or capital"

** Barclays ("overweight," PT: $54) says substantial improvements BAC has made in its investment and consumer bank and the benefits of technology investments provide earnings upside potential longer term** Oppenheimer ("outperform," PT: $50) says "we believe BAC remains an attractive pick at this juncture given a stable starting point and seemingly pre-programmed grind higher on Net Interest Income (NII) and associated operating leverage benefits on security reinvestment into today's higher-rate environment"

** KBW ("outperform," PT: $52) says BAC will re-rate higher as it delivers improving Net Interest Income (NII)

(Reporting by Joel Jose in Bengaluru)

((joeljose@thomsonreuters.com))