Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CFG. Argus raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.73.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CFG stock opened at $35.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.36. Citizens Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $36.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $213,219.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $1,959,000. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 12,212 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 2,992 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,296,648 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,970,000 after buying an additional 431,624 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 199,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,603,000 after acquiring an additional 79,247 shares during the period. Finally, SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3,222.9% during the third quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,163,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.