BidaskClub upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday.
A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CFG. Wedbush raised Citizens Financial Group from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank AG reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 5th. Zacks Investment Research raised Citizens Financial Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, TheStreet raised Citizens Financial Group from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $35.19.
Shares of Citizens Financial Group (CFG) traded down 0.44% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,763,622 shares. Citizens Financial Group has a 1-year low of $23.81 and a 1-year high of $39.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.31.
Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.08% and a net margin of 19.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post $2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $850.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.64%.
Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FTB Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the first quarter. FTB Advisors Inc. now owns 3,381 shares of the bank’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Sun Life Financial INC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 41,266.7% in the second quarter. Sun Life Financial INC now owns 3,723 shares of the bank’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 3,714 shares during the last quarter. Coconut Grove Bank increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 59.1% in the first quarter. Coconut Grove Bank now owns 4,845 shares of the bank’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.4% in the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co. now owns 4,994 shares of the bank’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $203,000. Institutional investors own 96.86% of the company’s stock.
About Citizens Financial Group
Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a retail bank holding company. The Company operates through two segments: Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. Its Consumer Banking serves retail customers and small businesses. Consumer Banking products and services include deposit products, mortgage and home equity lending, auto financing, student loans, personal unsecured lines and loans, credit cards, business loans, wealth management and investment services.
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