Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by 19 research firms, with an average 12-month price target of $52.35.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.92 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a $1.50 billion share buyback program, highlighting confidence in its stock value.
• Citizens Financial Group also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.2%.

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.35.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $61.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG stock opened at $52.90 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $50.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.80. 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 has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $53.89.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%.The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CFG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $253,423,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth $108,864,000. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $93,361,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $67,492,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 11,167.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,347,537 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,577 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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