Citizens Financial Group Gets Strong Buy Rating and Raised Price Target by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler's Scott Siefers upgraded their rating on Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG) from Hold to Strong Buy on 2024/04/26. The analyst also raised their price target by 17.1% from $35 to $41.

Taking 10 days to digest Citizens Financial's Q1 2024 results, the analyst said they "feel more comfortable" with the company's near-term net interest income progression. Given the bank's "promising" longer-term opportunity, the stock's current valuation is "very attractive," Siefers said, pointing to Citizens' "solid" capital base, which can support earnings should loan growth not pan out as hoped.

In addition to the upgrade for Citizens Financial Group, Siefers also made changes to other names in their portfolio. They raised their price target on Comerica Inc by 3.7%, from $54 to $56, and maintained their Hold rating. Similarly, they raised their price target on Regions Financial Corp by 5%, from $20 to $21, and maintained their Hold rating.

Currently, 75% of top-rated analysts rate CFG as a Strong Buy or Buy, while 25% see it as a Hold. No analysts either recommend or strongly recommend selling the stock.

According to the consensus forecast among analysts, CFG is expected to deliver earnings per share (EPS) of $4.22 in the upcoming year. If the analysts' predictions are accurate, CFG's next yearly EPS will be up by 34.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Since CFG's latest quarterly report on 2024/04/17, the stock price has risen by 6.5%. On a year-over-year basis, the stock is up 20.5%. However, it is trailing behind the S&P 500, which has seen a gain of 25.7% during the same period.

Piper Sandler analyst Scott Siefers is ranked in the top 18% out of 4,566 Wall Street analysts by WallStreetZen. With an average return of 8.3% and a win rate of 63%, Siefers specializes in the Financial Services sector.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is the bank holding company for Citizens Bank, National Association. The company provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the U.S. Founded in 1828, Citizens Financial Group is headquartered in Providence, RI.

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