Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Sets New 12-Month High Following Strong Earnings

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $63.00 and last traded at $63.3110, with a volume of 2226400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.81.

The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CFG. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America raised Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $65.00 in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial cut Citizens Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $66.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 37.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 479,415 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,284,000 after purchasing an additional 129,995 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 856,204 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,315,000 after purchasing an additional 42,971 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,399,905 shares of the bank’s stock worth $287,932,000 after buying an additional 1,098,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $1,848,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 6.1%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $27.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.72.

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.