Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.7727.

Several research firms recently issued reports on CFG. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $62.50 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 5.9%

NYSE:CFG opened at $60.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $68.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.93. The stock has a market cap of $25.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 15.19%.Citizens Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 47.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CFG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,548,977 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,306,817,000 after acquiring an additional 209,467 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 37,289,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,982,532,000 after purchasing an additional 614,181 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,064,513 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,279,270,000 after purchasing an additional 393,158 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $661,052,000 after purchasing an additional 32,264 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,242,000 after buying an additional 298,779 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 (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.