As previously reported, Bernstein analyst Kevin St. Pierre upgraded Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) to Outperform from Market Perform as he believes there is more likely to be upside to his 2018-2020 estimates than downside. With the year to date underperformance of the stock, the analyst believes valuation is far more attractive than at the start of the year. St. Pierre also upgraded Citizens Financial (CFG) to Outperform.

Argus raised the firm's price target on Citizens Financial to $39 from $36 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its Q1 earnings beat. Regional bank shares have faced pressure since the failure of three regional banks amid higher deposit costs, commercial real estate exposure, and unrealized losses in the investment portfolio, but Citizens and other regional banks have adequately allayed these fears with their recent results, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citizens has also hired a number of ex-First Republic advisors to expand its presence in the wealth management business, Argus added.