Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Price Target Raised to $77.00

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) had its price target increased by Evercore from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CFG. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, New Street Research set a $73.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.91.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $68.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Citizens Financial Group has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $68.36.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 47.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $308,946,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $253,423,000. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $93,361,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $87,173,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 2,082,961 shares of the bank’s stock worth $110,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.