Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group reached a new 52-week high after Evercore ISI raised their price target from $55.00 to $57.00, currently holding an outperform rating on the stock.
• Multiple brokerages have upgraded Citizens Financial Group, with an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $52.10.
• The company announced a $1.50 billion stock repurchase program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $57.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Citizens Financial Group traded as high as $53.00 and last traded at $52.62, with a volume of 3146514 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.13.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $48.50 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 993,788 shares of the bank's stock valued at $43,488,000 after purchasing an additional 14,421 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 111,595 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,883,000 after acquiring an additional 5,491 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 236,855 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,365,000 after acquiring an additional 13,085 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 71.1% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 19,092 shares of the bank's stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,158,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.43.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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