StockNews.com Downgrades Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) to Sell

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.07.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, hitting $41.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,959,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,366,145. Citizens Financial Group has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $43.96. The company has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,401.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,059 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.