BofA Securities analyst Ebrahim H. Poonawala upgraded Citizens Financial Group, Inc. ( CFG ) to Buy from Neutral and raised the price target to $65 from $52.

CFG is trading at elevated levels. See the full breakdown here.

The analyst estimates a 300bps+ improvement in ROTCE (Return on Tangible Common Equity) by 2028, reaching 14.6%, one of the largest increases across its super-regional bank coverage.

Poonawala expects ROTCE to benefit from the roll-off of terminated swaps (+21bps to NIM through 2027) and back book repricing (+15bps to +20bps).

Also, operating leverage from recent investments, and a focus on boosting franchise productivity (efficiency ratio improving to 58.5% by FY28 vs. 64.5% in FY25) can act as tailwinds.

CFG is poised to benefit from a rebound in deal activity, with $2.7 trillion in available investment capital, writes the analyst.

Poonawala estimates CET1 capital at 10.25%, though it may decrease below the management target of 10%-10.5%. The analyst cites regulatory changes and CFG’s stress capital buffer dropping after the 2026 stress test as reason.

He expects net interest margin to improve steadily, reaching 3.18% in FY26 and 3.25% in FY27.

The analyst forecasts revenue growth of 8.8% in FY26 and 5.7% in FY27, above the peer median of 4.5%.

Also, rebounding bank M&A could increase the likelihood of takeout options being priced into the stock, says the analyst.

Citizens Financial Group ( CFG ) will report its third quarter 2025 results on Oct. 15, 2025. 

CFG Price Action: Citizens Financial Group ( CFG ) shares are up 0.84% at $52.45 at publication on Thursday.

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