Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Sets New 1-Year High After Earnings Beat

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $49.40 and last traded at $49.04, with a volume of 8211818 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.97.

The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CFG. Argus set a $45.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.32.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CFG. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $398,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 21,138 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 37.9% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $410,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.86 and a 200 day moving average of $42.40. The firm has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.