TD Cowen Initiates Coverage on Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• TD Cowen initiated coverage of Citizens Financial Group with a “buy” rating and a $75 price target, implying roughly 19% upside from the reported $63 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Citizens has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $79.38, supported by one Strong Buy, 15 Buy, and four Hold ratings.
• The bank exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.30 in earnings per share versus a $1.25 estimate and $2.28 billion in revenue, up 12.1% year over year; however, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold shares worth approximately $9.3 million.

Equities research analysts at TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price target on the bank's stock. TD Cowen's target price points to a potential upside of 19.04% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Argus set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.38.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CFG traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $63.00. 425,255 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,582,805. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $47.96 and a 1 year high of $75.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 883 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,245 shares of the bank's stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,976 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,801,000 after acquiring an additional 5,983 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 94.7% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 269,900 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,912,000 after buying an additional 131,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 1,307,340 shares of the bank's stock worth $91,605,000 after acquiring an additional 42,248 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions through branches, digital channels and other delivery platforms.

The company's consumer banking activities include checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lending, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Through its commercial banking operations, Citizens provides business loans, commercial real estate financing, treasury management, capital markets services and other solutions for companies and institutional clients.