StockNews.com Downgrades Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) to Sell

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.13.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE CFG opened at $35.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.95. Citizens Financial Group has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $36.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $213,219.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,265,704.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.