Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Stock Price

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $73.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

CFG has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $62.50 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.09.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $61.07 on Monday. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $68.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $25.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.12.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 47.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,548,977 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,306,817,000 after purchasing an additional 209,467 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% during the third 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 period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,064,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,279,270,000 after buying an additional 393,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $661,052,000 after buying an additional 32,264 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.