Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Key Points

• Earnings beat: Citizens reported $1.13 EPS vs. $1.09 expected (beat of $0.04) on $2.17B revenue, with a net margin of 15.19% and ROE of 7.81%.
• Dividend and valuation: The company paid a $0.46 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.84, yield 2.8%, payout ratio ~47.6%) and shares trade near $65.19 with a P/E of about 16.9 and a 12‑month range of $33.95–$68.79.
• Analyst and institutional support: MarketBeat shows a "Moderate Buy" consensus (20 Buys, 1 Hold) with an average target of $69.14, while major institutions like Morgan Stanley, AQR and Amundi increased stakes and institutional ownership is ~94.9%.

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 $1.09 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE CFG opened at $65.19 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $61.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.93. Citizens Financial Group has a 12 month low of $33.95 and a 12 month high of $68.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank's stock worth $655,242,000 after purchasing an additional 298,779 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank's stock worth $451,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799,050 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,738,287 shares of the bank's stock worth $251,887,000 after purchasing an additional 99,684 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 136.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,513,388 shares of the bank's stock worth $205,217,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,255 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,821,237 shares of the bank's stock worth $149,977,000 after purchasing an additional 27,882 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CFG. Argus upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $66.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.14.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.

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