Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG – Get Free Report)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.95 and last traded at $34.79, with a volume of 3270136 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.52.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.
Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 3.9 %
The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.39 and a 200-day moving average of $29.54.
Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.26). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.02%.
Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group
In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $151,198.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 76.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,002,482 shares of the bank’s stock worth $861,383,000 after acquiring an additional 8,203,831 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 16,058,342 shares of the bank’s stock worth $418,802,000 after buying an additional 5,939,590 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 217.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,978,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $213,821,000 after buying an additional 5,465,824 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $192,928,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 3,460,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.
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.