JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Price Target to $72.50

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) had its target price cut by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $78.00 to $72.50 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the bank’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.04% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Argus set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.22.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.14. 1,409,492 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,594,487. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.65. The firm has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group has a 12 month low of $47.96 and a 12 month high of $75.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,245 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,976 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,801,000 after buying an additional 5,983 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 94.7% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 269,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,912,000 after acquiring an additional 131,300 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% in the second quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 1,307,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,605,000 after acquiring an additional 42,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 18.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 58,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,091,000 after acquiring an additional 8,946 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions through branches, digital channels and other delivery platforms.

The company’s consumer banking activities include checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lending, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Through its commercial banking operations, Citizens provides business loans, commercial real estate financing, treasury management, capital markets services and other solutions for companies and institutional clients.