10:35 AM EST, 02/29/2024 (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 raise our 12-month target price by USD4 to USD38, 8.0x our FY 2025 (Oct.) EPS view (USD4.80 converted from CAD), a warranted discount to the peer average of 9.9x given weaker credit quality and softer earnings expectations. We increase our FY 2025 EPS to CAD6.88 from CAD6.53 and raise FY 2025's to CAD6.51 from CAD6.47. CM posted adjusted Jan-Q EPS of CAD1.81 vs. CAD1.94 a year ago, beating the CAD1.67 consensus. Revenue jumped 5% Y/Y, driven by margin expansion, volume growth, higher fee income, and strong trading revenues. However, with gross impaired loans coming in at 55 bps (about 20% above historic levels), we continue to take a cautious view on shares as we expect customers to struggle with elevated debt service ratios. Still, it was an encouraging quarter as CM improved its resilience by increasing its capital levels (CET1 ratio +130 bps Y/Y to 13.0%). Additionally, the bank's allowance for credit losses is up 24% Y/Y, while CM has reduced its U.S. commercial real estate loan exposure by 12%.