Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Barclays upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. Barclays now has a $77.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $56.00. Citizens Financial Group traded as high as $61.15 and last traded at $61.3070, with a volume of 627843 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.39.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on CFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.33.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFG. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% in the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 16,900.0% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 72.4% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 736 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.70. The stock has a market cap of $26.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 29th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.54%.

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.