Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on CFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.50 to $36.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.73.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $35.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $16.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.36. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.47.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.67%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total transaction of $213,219.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 217.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,978,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $213,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,465,824 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $117,372,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,213.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,746,064 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,395,000 after purchasing an additional 3,460,792 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,484,439 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213,573 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,472,122 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,932,000 after buying an additional 1,212,642 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.