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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays cut Citizens Financial Group from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $35.93.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.6 %

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

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 4.86%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total transaction of $213,219.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,071 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 17,319 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,640 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 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.