Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight 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 objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Compass Point lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 483.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,500 shares of the bank's stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 86.8% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 11,119 shares of the bank's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 5,167 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 558.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 208,476 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,562,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 124.5% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 14,897 shares of the bank's stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 8,262 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $46.43. The company had a trading volume of 2,325,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,876,684. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $30.30 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.10.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The business's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.45%.

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.