Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.78.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CFG shares. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James raised Citizens Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 22,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,304 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,726 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,777 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 13,177 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG opened at $47.52 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.10. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $30.24 and a 12-month high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,962,330 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 5.73%. Citizens Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 66.14%.

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.