Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Receives $49.32 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.32.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CFG. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target (down from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up from $51.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.63. The company had a trading volume of 3,747,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,850,632. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $42.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.28. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.76.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% during the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.