** Shares of U.S. bank Truist Financial TFC.N drop ~1.4% to $29.01 before the bell

** Piper Sandler downgrades TFC stock to "" from "overweight"; Cuts price target to $32 from $36

** Brokerage says it was "too ambitious" on TFC's cost outlook prior to the recent announcement of a cost-savings program

** Earlier this week, bank said it was planning "sizable reductions" to its workforce over the few months to save roughly $300 mln in costs; Company also laid out a broader plan to realize $750 mln in savings over 12 to 18 months

** "We just do see enough company-specific drivers that lead us to believe the shares will outperform others" - Piper Sandler

** Eight of 25 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 16 "hold" and one "strong sell"; their median PT is $36 - LSEG data

** As of last close, shares in TFC down ~31.6% YTD

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru)

((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com))