Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Price Target Raised to $78.00

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $71.78 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $45.90 and a 1 year high of $74.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.44 and its 200 day moving average is $64.42.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 39.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $661,052,000 after buying an additional 32,264 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,242,000 after buying an additional 298,779 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $467,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953,372 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $451,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799,050 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,574,714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $384,029,000 after purchasing an additional 763,098 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.