Ameriprise shares fall on earnings report, downgrade

Shares of Ameriprise fell $2.04, or 4.1 percent, to $48.25 in midday trading.

Wachovia Capital Markets LLC analyst John Hall cut his rating on the financial adviser to "Market Perform" from "Outperform" because of its weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings and said he lowered his "valuation range" to $45 from $50.

Ameriprise earned $191 million, or 82 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, forecast earnings of 97 cents per share.

Hall was expecting earnings of 99 cents per share.

"While we believe the company's long-term business model is sound, we do not expect earnings to rebound quickly," Hall wrote in a research note.

Hall cut his 2008 earnings estimate to $3.61 per share from $4.45 per share. He reduced his 2009 estimate to $4.10 per share from $5 per share.

The new estimates are based on first-quarter results, as well as an assumption of 2 percent equity market appreciation each quarter and relatively flat expense levels, Hall wrote.