Citizens Financial Group’s (CFG) Buy Rating Reiterated at Citigroup

Citigroup reissued their buy rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $57.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price target of $51.00.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CFG. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.68.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $47.72 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The company has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.76.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 6.84%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Equities analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $233,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 7.5% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 136,374 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,587,000 after acquiring an additional 9,557 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $1,760,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 29.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,475 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $977,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.