Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest rose 19.1% in April to 15,538,405 shares as of April 15, equal to 3.7% of the company's shares and a days-to-cover ratio of 3.6.
• Citizens beat Q1 estimates with $1.13 EPS vs. $1.10 and $2.17B revenue (up 12% YoY), and announced a $0.46 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.84, yield 2.9%) payable May 14.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with 19 Buys and 1 Hold, a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.86.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 15,538,405 shares, an increase of 19.1% from the March 31st total of 13,048,547 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,305,155 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.7% of the company's shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CFG. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays set a $77.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $66.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.86.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of CFG stock opened at $64.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Citizens Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $35.90 and a fifty-two week high of $68.79. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $61.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.78.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.50%.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc NYSE: CFG is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.

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