Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Short Interest Update

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 14,270,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the September 15th total of 12,650,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $170,357.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,454,401.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 484.4% during the second quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CFG. Raymond James assumed coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Citizens Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.07.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE CFG traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.49. 5,516,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,349,706. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. Citizens Financial Group has a 1-year low of $22.77 and a 1-year high of $44.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $41.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.89.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 10.74%. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

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.