12:30 PM EDT, 04/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We increase our 12-month target price by $3 to $41, 9.7x our 2025 EPS estimate, in line with CFG's five-year forward average of 9.8x. We decrease our 2024 EPS estimate by $0.34 to $3.38 and lower 2025's by $0.05 to $4.23. CFG posted adjusted Q1 EPS of $0.79 vs. $1.10 a year ago, $0.03 above consensus. Fee income (+3%) impressed in the quarter as a pickup in M&A activity and strong bond underwriting led to a 36% surge in capital markets revenue. Net interest income fell 3% Q/Q, although we were encouraged by the bank's net interest margin, which held steady at 2.91%. Given a strong CET1 ratio of 10.6% and minimal unrealized losses in the bank's securities portfolio, CFG returned to share repurchases. Provisions for credit losses were stable at $171M in the quarter and we view CFG's general office reserve of 10.6% as a reassuring cushion should credit quality deteriorate further. With momentum continuing in CFG's private bank ($2.4B of deposits in Q1 vs. $1.2B in Q4), we remain bullish on shares.