Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Price Target Raised to $79.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Citizens Financial Group to $79 from $73 and kept an overweight rating, implying about 12.4% upside from the current share price.
• Other Wall Street firms have also turned more constructive, with recent target increases from Citigroup, Truist, RBC and Evercore; overall, CFG has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $71.64.
• The stock was little changed at $70.30 after the report, while the company recently beat quarterly EPS expectations and posted 12% year-over-year revenue growth in its last earnings release.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $73.00 to $79.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the bank's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.37% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Stephens started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.64.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $70.30. 969,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,916,198. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.68. Citizens Financial Group has a 1-year low of $44.58 and a 1-year high of $71.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the bank's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth $1,034,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,707 shares of the bank's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 67.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 112,088 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,722,000 after purchasing an additional 45,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caerus Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,772 shares of the bank's stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 256 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 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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