Citizens Financial Group (CFG) Surges 8.9%: Is This an Indication of Further Gains?

Company Overview - Citizens Financial Group (CFG) shares increased by 8.9% to $37.47 in the last trading session, following a period of 13.8% loss over the past four weeks, indicating a significant recovery in stock performance [1] - The stock price surge was influenced by President Trump's announcement on April 9, 2025, regarding a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most trading partners, which alleviated trade war concerns and improved the economic outlook, thereby boosting investor confidence in banking stocks like CFG [2] Earnings Expectations - Citizens Financial Group is projected to report quarterly earnings of$ 0.75 per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 15.4%, while revenues are expected to be $1.94 billion, a slight decline of 0.8% from the previous year [3] - The consensus EPS estimate for CFG has been revised down by 2.4% over the last 30 days, indicating a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions, which typically does not correlate with price appreciation [4] Industry Context - CFG is part of the Zacks Banks - Northeast industry, where NBT Bancorp (NBTB) also operates, having closed the last trading session at$ 40.45 with a 4.7% increase, although NBTB has seen a -9.6% return over the past month [4] - NBT's consensus EPS estimate remains unchanged at $0.76, representing an 11.8% increase compared to the previous year's EPS, and it also holds a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold) [5]