Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Stock Bumped Up to "Strong-Buy" by Raymond James Financial

Key Points

• Raymond James upgraded Citizens Financial Group to “strong buy,” joining a generally positive analyst outlook. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $79.53.
• Citizens Financial reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, beating estimates of $1.25, while revenue rose 12.1% year over year to $2.28 billion.
• CFG shares opened at $63.02, down 1.7%, below the company’s 50-day moving average of $69.32. CEO Bruce Van Saun also sold 129,369 shares worth approximately $9.3 million.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on CFG. Citigroup lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.53.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CFG stock opened at $63.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $47.96 and a 1 year high of $75.33. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $69.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (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 period last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 319.8% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 424 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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