Morgan Stanley Cuts Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Price Target to $73.00

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $73.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CFG. Barclays set a $77.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.27.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG stock opened at $60.98 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.22. The firm has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Citizens Financial Group has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.