Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Short Interest Update

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,160,000 shares, a growth of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 9,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 2.6 %

Citizens Financial Group stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $41.66. 3,273,301 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,726,230. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $44.37 and its 200-day moving average is $44.17. Citizens Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $32.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.45%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Compass Point lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.67.

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.