Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Upgraded by Citigroup to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Citigroup upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

CFG has been the topic of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.15.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $71.55 on Monday. Citizens Financial Group has a one year low of $45.90 and a one year high of $74.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $355,909,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $451,075,000 after buying an additional 2,799,050 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 89.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,731,592 shares of the bank’s stock worth $276,372,000 after buying an additional 2,232,806 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 136.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,513,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $205,217,000 after buying an additional 2,027,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $467,389,000 after buying an additional 1,953,372 shares during 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.