Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.73.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.76. 2,410,240 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,673,800. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $16.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 1.36. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.31.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $213,219.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.