Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $78.97 According to Brokerages

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.38.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CFG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 56,309 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,946,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 4,278 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 29.9% in the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 883 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price target support the stock. Raymond James upgraded CFG to “strong buy,” while TD Cowen initiated coverage with a “buy” rating and a $75 price target—approximately 18% above the recently cited share price. These actions suggest some analysts see upside ahead. Citizens Financial Group Raised to Strong-Buy at Raymond James
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects earnings growth. CFG is included among financial stocks expected to post substantial earnings gains, potentially benefiting from the impact of higher interest rates on bank results. Financial Stocks Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Preferred-share redemption streamlines capital. CFG redeemed all outstanding Series G preferred shares, a move that may simplify its capital structure and could improve the efficiency of its funding base. Citizens Financial Redeems Series G Preferred
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings release is the main near-term catalyst. Investors are preparing for the October 16 report, with recent analyst forecast changes likely to influence trading before and after the announcement. Citizens Financial Q3 Forecast Changes
• Negative Sentiment: A potential earnings beat appears less certain. Zacks said CFG does not currently have the preferred combination of factors that typically support an earnings surprise. That caution may be pressuring the stock despite expectations for year-over-year earnings growth. Citizens Financial Group Earnings Expectations

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $63.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $47.96 and a 52-week high of $75.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $69.00 and a 200 day moving average of $66.88.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.91%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions through branches, digital channels and other delivery platforms.

The company’s consumer banking activities include checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lending, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Through its commercial banking operations, Citizens provides business loans, commercial real estate financing, treasury management, capital markets services and other solutions for companies and institutional clients.