Morgan Stanley Maintains Equal-Weight on CIT Group as 2014 Expects Lower Capital Managment

In a report published Wednesday, Morgan Stanley analyst Cheryl Pate maintained Equal-Weight on CIT Group, Inc.

as lower capital management is expected in 2014. According to the report, while CIT's 4Q13 share buybacks were slightly higher than the analyst's forecast, the forward look is more muted. They had forecast $524M in repurchases for 2014, above the $307M total authorized. “CIT announced it had repurchased $143 million shares in 4Q13, for a total of $193 million in repurchases for 2013 ($200 million authorized),” the report noted. “CIT also announced the authorization of $300M in share repurchases (in addition to the $7M remaining under the current authorization) for 2014. Finally, CIT declared a 1Q14 dividend of 10c, flat q/q and in-line with our expectations.” CIT closed Tuesday at $49.72.