Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.8810.

Several research firms have recently commented on CFG. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CFG opened at $60.82 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group has a 52 week low of $38.80 and a 52 week high of $68.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.64.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Manage LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Family Manage LLC now owns 4,168 shares of the bank’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $625,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,011,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 126.9% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 37,578 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,254,000 after buying an additional 21,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 103.1% during the first quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 7,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.