Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $74.86 and last traded at $74.6390, with a volume of 255917 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.19. The company has a market cap of $31.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 worth $661,052,000 after acquiring an additional 32,264 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 270,484 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,799,000 after acquiring an additional 85,052 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 991,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,914,000 after purchasing an additional 94,774 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,426,000 after purchasing an additional 20,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,466,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.