UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Raises PT on CIT Group Following Fed Buyback Approval

In a report published Friday, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher Brendler reiterated a Buy rating on CIT Group CIT, and raised the price target from $50.00 to $53.00.

In the report, Stifel Nicolaus noted, “We believe yesterday's Fed approval of CIT's initial buyback request and termination of the nearly four year-old formal agreement represent key milestones in the firm's increasingly successful turnaround story. In our view, unlocking CIT's significant excess capital will enable to company to finally generate above-hurdle returns on capital and power above-consensus EPS. We note that despite a handsome 2.0% return on earning assets this past quarter, CIT continues to struggle to drive attractive profitability with just a 7.7% ROE. Unfortunately, CIT's commercial finance business was never designed to be run at just 4x leverage and as such the Fed's harsh oversight has been a burden on EPS power and the stock.”

CIT Group closed on Thursday at $46.90.