Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Stock

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) had its price target upped by Citigroup from $57.00 to $60.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the bank's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.05.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG traded down $0.58 on Monday, reaching $49.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,455,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,916,324. Citizens Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $49.98. The stock has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.50 and its 200 day moving average is $42.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.06%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% in the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 72.4% during the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 736 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

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.