The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Stock Price

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) had its price target upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $48.00 to $59.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the bank's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CFG. StockNews.com raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.47.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE CFG traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $48.09. 2,582,135 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,249,085. 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 has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $26.13 and a 1 year high of $49.25. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.93.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 66.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 894,552 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,463,000 after purchasing an additional 33,455 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 57.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 296,454 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,758,000 after buying an additional 108,712 shares in the last quarter. Montchanin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $5,459,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $119,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.