A good start to the year is only going to get better for J.P. Morgan Chase, according to veteran banking analyst Dick Bove.

In the wake of fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations despite a weak trading environment and a write-down from tax reform legislation, Bove, of the Vertical Group, said the largest U.S. bank is poised for big gains ahead.

In fact, he raised its price target to $128.45, a level that suggests a 14 percent gain from Friday's close.

"My view of this company is that it is probably the best bank I have ever followed in 5 decades of analyzing companies," Bove told clients in a note.

He is keeping his buy rating on J.P. Morgan as the stock already has gained more than 5 percent in the new year. The company last week posted quarterly earnings of $1.76 a share on revenue of $25.45 billion, both well ahead of consensus estimates.

Though Bove himself, in a CNBC interview, called the results "mediocre," he sees the environment overall for banks as highly conducive to large profits and sold gains for share prices.