Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group shares reached a new 52-week high at $55.24, with a recent trading price of $54.14 and a trading volume of 159,870 shares.
• Several analysts upgraded their ratings on the stock, with Barclays raising their price target to $55 and Morgan Stanley increasing it to $71, reflecting growing confidence in the company.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, contributing to an annual yield of 3.1%, and has initiated a $1.5 billion stock buyback program.

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $55.24 and last traded at $54.14, with a volume of 159870 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CFG shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Citizens Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned 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 an average target price of $54.70.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.0%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $50.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% in the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 16,900.0% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 680 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 72.4% in the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 736 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in 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 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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