Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $68.85 and last traded at $68.6630, with a volume of 1299088 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.36.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $29.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.32 and its 200 day moving average is $62.12.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $355,909,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $451,075,000 after buying an additional 2,799,050 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 89.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,731,592 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $276,372,000 after buying an additional 2,232,806 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 136.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,513,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $205,217,000 after buying an additional 2,027,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $467,389,000 after buying an additional 1,953,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.