Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $82.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Citizens Financial Group traded as high as $72.94 and last traded at $72.2710, with a volume of 109550 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $72.11.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CFG. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday. Stephens initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.35.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 37,289,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,982,532,000 after buying an additional 614,181 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,064,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,279,270,000 after buying an additional 393,158 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $661,052,000 after acquiring an additional 32,264 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,242,000 after acquiring an additional 298,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $467,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953,372 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.4%

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 has a market capitalization of $30.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.88.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.50%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.