Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG)

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 7,407 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 198% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,482 call options.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded down $0.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $46.73. The stock had a trading volume of 6,053,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,816,273. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.51. 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 52 week low of $30.24 and a 52 week high of $49.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,826,368 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,060,689,000 after buying an additional 1,615,144 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 207.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,272,043 shares of the bank's stock worth $339,733,000 after acquiring an additional 5,579,313 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,974,434 shares of the bank's stock worth $217,781,000 after acquiring an additional 805,758 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,429,264 shares of the bank's stock valued at $159,550,000 after purchasing an additional 587,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 61.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,422,948 shares of the bank's stock valued at $155,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,886 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.78.

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.