Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Price Target Raised to $43.00

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) had its price objective lifted by Citigroup from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CFG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Citizens Financial Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $35.93.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $34.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.77. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38. The company has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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 dated Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $213,219.90. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors 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.