Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.5455.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CFG. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, New Street Research set a $73.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $66.60 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.77 and a 200 day moving average of $54.01. Citizens Financial Group has a 52 week low of $32.60 and a 52 week high of $67.50. The company has a market cap of $28.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.55%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 16,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.