Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Raymond James currently has $55.00 target price on the bank's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on CFG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded down $2.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.66. 4,574,025 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,163,695. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $44.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Citizens Financial Group has a 12 month low of $30.24 and a 12 month high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors 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 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.14%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $590,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 655,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,368,000 after purchasing an additional 29,940 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 292.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 69,851 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,869,000 after purchasing an additional 52,039 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 8.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 43,969 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is 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.