Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $39.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Citizens Financial Group traded as high as $36.18 and last traded at $35.93, with a volume of 155706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.82.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CFG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com cut Citizens Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.63.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $151,198.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.6% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 964 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.6 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.67 and a 200-day moving average of $29.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 1.36.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.26). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.02%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.