Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold" Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Cowen began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Stephens cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.89.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.61. The stock had a trading volume of 9,470,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,842,718. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $49.68.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%. Citizens Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued 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 3.46%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% in the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 774 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.