Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CFG. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.80.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $42.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 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 $44.39.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $170,357.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,401.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CFG. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Private Ocean LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 484.4% in the 2nd quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors 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.