Citizens Financial Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CFG)

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 5,041 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 297% compared to the average daily volume of 1,269 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group 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 owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,242,000 after purchasing an additional 298,779 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $451,075,000 after buying an additional 2,799,050 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,220,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $423,222,000 after buying an additional 505,614 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.60.

Key Stories Impacting Citizens Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens Financial Group reported Q2 EPS of $1.30, topping the $1.25 consensus estimate and up from $0.92 a year ago, with revenue rising 12.1% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter net income rose to $587 million, up 35% year over year, as higher net interest income and fee growth in wealth and capital markets boosted results. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on CFG to $80 from $75 and reiterated an overweight rating, signaling confidence in further upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity also pointed to bullish sentiment, with call volume surging to 5,041 contracts, well above the recent average.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said the quarter benefited from strong revenue trends, but investors may still watch expense pressure and credit provisions going forward. Article Title

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 3.5%

NYSE:CFG traded up $2.52 on Thursday, reaching $73.64. 3,434,758 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,947,293. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Citizens Financial Group has a 1-year low of $45.90 and a 1-year high of $74.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.04 and its 200-day moving average is $63.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.