Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $68.85 and last traded at $68.6630, with a volume of 1299088 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CFG shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup boosted 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 report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.21.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $29.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.93.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 43.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 504,595 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,968,000 after purchasing an additional 25,180 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $2,412,000. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $891,000. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 991,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,914,000 after purchasing an additional 94,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $661,052,000 after buying an additional 32,264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.