Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.5263.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CFG. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. StoneX Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 60,307 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,497 shares of the bank’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,766 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 8,961 shares of the bank’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,570 shares of the bank’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $52.30 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.90. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $52.53. The firm has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

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

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.