Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.4%

CFG stock traded down $0.21 on Friday, hitting $48.61. 9,470,067 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,846,543. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $49.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $21.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.76.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CFG. Barclays boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. TD Cowen began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,466 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.