09:50 AM EDT, 04/18/2024 (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 target price by $1 to $41, 6.9x our 2025 EPS estimate, a discount to CMA's five-year forward P/E average of 11.3x given weak net interest income expectations. We decrease our 2024 EPS estimate by $0.36 to $5.25 and reduce 2025's by $0.06 to $5.93. CMA posted Q1 EPS of $1.29 versus $2.39 a year ago, $0.14 above consensus. Net interest income fell 6% Q/Q as the bank saw its net interest margin contract 11 bps to 2.80%. Weakness was identified in noninterest-bearing deposits (-5%), although management indicated that balances have neared a trough. We view this prediction as a bit optimistic and expect CMA to continue to see moderate outflows as clients are enticed with higher interest-bearing accounts. Loan growth (-3%) underperformed peers as commercial loan balances dipped 6%. Improvement was seen in the bank's capital profile (CET1 ratio +40 bps to 11.5%), although large unrealized losses in the bank's securities portfolio will likely keep the bank away from buybacks in the near term.