Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.20.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CFG shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $40.09 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $43.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.85. The firm has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.08.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 6.21%. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of Citizens Financial Group 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 owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,401.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 484.4% in the second 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. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $48,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.