Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.47.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $48.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.21. Citizens Financial Group has a twelve month low of $26.99 and a twelve month high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 5.73%. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 66.14%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.