Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG)

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 39,377 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,069% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,367 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.60.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $170,357.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,401.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,709,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,332,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,333 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,504,591 shares of the bank’s stock worth $215,562,000 after acquiring an additional 95,292 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,625,128 shares of the bank’s stock worth $130,722,000 after purchasing an additional 480,129 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $117,372,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,472,122 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212,642 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CFG traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.24. 4,646,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,524,484. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $22.77 and a 1 year high of $43.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.