Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and upped their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $37.13.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.5 %

CFG stock opened at $34.98 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 60.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total transaction of $213,219.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.