Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $71.45 and last traded at $71.5480, with a volume of 846538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.64.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 2.5%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.68.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 504,595 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,968,000 after buying an additional 25,180 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $2,412,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $661,052,000 after acquiring an additional 32,264 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 991,510 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,914,000 after acquiring an additional 94,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 270,484 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,799,000 after purchasing an additional 85,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.