Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• Citizens reported a strong Q1 beat with EPS $1.13 vs. $1.10 consensus, revenue $2.17B (+12% YoY) and net income $517M (EPS +47% YoY), and management reaffirmed a path to 16–18% ROCE by end‑2027.
• Management said the “Reimagine the Bank” program is on track with a $450M P&L target by end‑2028 and about $100M of 2026 exit run‑rate benefits, while the private bank and wealth unit is scaling (≈10% of pre‑tax income, ROE >25%).
• The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (≈2.9% yield), but shares fell roughly 1.4% after the print as investors flagged rising operating expenses despite the beat.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Citizens Financial Group's conference call:

• Citizens reported a strong Q1 with EPS of $1.13, ROTCE of 12.2%, year-over-year EPS growth of 47%, expanding NIM and reaffirmed its full-year outlook and path to a 16%–18% ROCE by end-2027.
• The private bank and wealth business is scaling rapidly—now ~10% of pre-tax income with ROE >25%, $16.6B of deposits and $7.7B of loans—helping deposit and fee growth across the franchise.
• “Reimagine the Bank” is tracking well: management reaffirmed a $450M P&L target by end-2028 and expects about $100M of 2026 exit run-rate benefits, with AI pilots already deployed to cut call volume and speed software development.
• Management expects upcoming regulatory changes could materially lower RWAs (management estimates ~10% RWA reduction), potentially improving CET1 by >100 bps (net ~30–50 bps after AOCI phase-in), which would boost capital flexibility.
• Management remains cautious about external risks—geopolitical tensions, market volatility and macro uncertainty could pressure capital markets fees, credit trends and the company’s ability to deliver upside to guidance.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $64.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $61.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.98. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $33.95 and a 52-week high of $68.79. The firm has a market cap of $27.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 47.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial cut Citizens Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 6,150 shares of the bank's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 179,607 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,491,000 after purchasing an additional 87,726 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 156,521 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,142,000 after acquiring an additional 72,184 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $327,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 118,820 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,991,000 after acquiring an additional 31,127 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Citizens delivered net income of $517M (up 39% YoY), EPS of $1.13 (up 47% YoY) and revenue of $2.17B (up 12% YoY), topping consensus on both EPS and revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — CFG announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46/share (annualized yield ~2.9%); record/ex‑div date April 30, payable May 14. This supports income-oriented investors and signals capital return capacity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Readouts available — Management’s earnings call transcript and investor slide deck are posted (useful for details on NII, fee growth and expense drivers). Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation & technicals — The shares trade with a mid‑teens P/E and a PEG well below 1; volume is elevated versus average, indicating strong investor attention but not directional conviction yet.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction & expense pressure — Despite the beat, shares slipped as investors focused on rising operating expenses that weighed on near‑term profitability; pre‑market coverage flagged the stock down after results. Article Title

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.