03:46 PM EDT, 08/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ( CM ) is "running a very straightforward strategy, and it is executing well," supporting increases in earnings estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026, RBC Capital Markets said Thursday in a report.

RBC increased the estimate for 2025 core earnings per share to 7.55 Canadian dollars ($5.60) from CA$7.51 with the 2026 forecast at CA$8.25, up from CA$8.20.

On Thursday, CIBC announced plans to repurchase up to 20 million common shares, and "we view this return of capital positively," RBC said. The bank may repurchase 50% of the shares evenly over four quarters, the report said.

The bank's fiscal Q3 results on Thursday exceeded expectations, primarily due to lower-than-forecast US impaired provisions for credit losses in office and diversified commercial sectors, along with some favorable one-off items, RBC said.

The bank revealed plans to shift its US portfolio mix to commercial and industrial real estate from commercial and to expand its wealth management platform, RBC said.

RBC raised its price target on CIBC stock to CA$74 from CA$69 and maintained the sector perform rating.

Price: 58.25, Change: +0.74, Percent Change: +1.29