Morgan Stanley Sees Accelerating Capital Return for CIT Group

In a report published Thursday, Morgan Stanley analyst Cheryl M. Pate reiterated an Equal-Weight rating and $46.00 price target on

. In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “CIT has taken several actions to deploy excess capital this quarter through the forms of capital return and platform acquisitions. The company increased its quarterly dividend by 5c to 15c starting in 3Q14, earlier than we had previously anticipated. Additionally, CIT repurchased $550m shares in 1H14, including ~$414m 2QTD. We look for CIT to complete the remaining $57m of the $607m authorized for 2014e in 3Q. We also increase our estimate for capital return in 2015, increasing the quarterly dividend to 20c/qtr and increasing buybacks to 5.2%, for a total payout of 90%. Additional capital return near term could come from further asset sales of non-strategic portfolios.” CIT Group closed on Wednesday at $45.33.