Brokerages Set Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Price Target at $47.78

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

CFG has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of CFG stock opened at $48.34 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $30.24 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1,962,330 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.45%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.