Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Raised to Outperform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $57.00 price target on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price points to a potential upside of 20.20% from the company's previous close.

CFG has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a 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 for the company. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.32.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.42. 7,335,537 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,857,224. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.76. Citizens Financial Group has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $49.25. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $41.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.20.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $243,431,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $108,864,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,570,083 shares of the bank's stock valued at $462,547,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,040 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,683,111 shares of the bank's stock valued at $423,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,186,364 shares of the bank's stock valued at $270,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.