Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Receives $51.53 Average PT from Analysts

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has been given an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with 14 out of 18 analysts recommending a buy or strong buy on the stock.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.92 per share, which exceeded estimates and marked a 3.8% increase in year-over-year revenue.
• A share repurchase plan has been approved, allowing Citizens Financial Group to buy back $1.50 billion in shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.5263.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $46.65. 3,708,536 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,390,433. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock's fifty day moving average is $45.05 and its 200 day moving average is $42.74. Citizens Financial Group has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $49.98. The stock has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 16,900.0% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 680 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. 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.