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

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Compass Point increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price 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.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $41.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $32.06 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.26.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,113.8% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 64,114 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,806,000 after buying an additional 58,832 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,313,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 105.5% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 31,490 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 16,169 shares during the period. LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $377,000. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,511,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.