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

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.5714.

CFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Raymond James Financial set a $62.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Citizens Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 352,733 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,451,000 after acquiring an additional 25,274 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 8.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.0% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 277.5% in the first quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 28,832 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 21,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $313,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $51.74 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.33. The firm has a market cap of $22.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Citizens Financial Group has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 14.17%.Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.54%.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.