Short Interest in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Declines By 21.8%

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,410,000 shares, a decrease of 21.8% from the October 15th total of 18,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.80.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 78,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 20,649 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 101.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 761,679 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,641,000 after purchasing an additional 383,947 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $1,910,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1,045.4% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,692 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 23,449 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 77.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 40,699 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 17,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.78. 3,793,968 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,555,918. The stock has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.42. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $26.13 and a 1 year high of $48.35.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 10.37%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 66.14%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.