Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Stock Price

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) had its price objective hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $46.00 to $53.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.27.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG opened at $46.60 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $28.19 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.45.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commerce Bank grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 13,177 shares of the bank’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 12.7% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,344 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 11,395 shares of the bank’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 88,829 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,648,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 6,976 shares of the bank’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.