Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Key Points

• Truist raised its price target on Citizens Financial from $63 to $69 (a ~7.3% upside) and the analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $70.76 average target and 19 of 20 analysts rating the stock a Buy.
• Citizens reported a Q1 beat—EPS $1.13 vs. $1.10 and revenue $2.17B (+12% YoY)—and declared a $0.46 quarterly dividend (~2.9% yield), but higher operating expenses and capital/efficiency concerns drove the stock lower on the print.
• Large institutional investors have been adding shares—Norges Bank, AQR, Victory Capital and Amundi among the buyers—leaving about 94.9% of CFG owned by institutions while insiders hold roughly 0.67%.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "hold" rating on the bank's stock. Truist Financial's price objective points to a potential upside of 7.30% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CFG. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.76.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG opened at $64.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group has a twelve month low of $33.95 and a twelve month high of $68.79. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $61.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. The firm 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%. Citizens Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the business'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 directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $355,909,000. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $308,946,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank's stock valued at $451,075,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799,050 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 89.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,731,592 shares of the bank's stock valued at $276,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,232,806 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,513,388 shares of the bank's stock valued at $205,217,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,255 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Citizens Financial Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on profit and revenue — CFG reported EPS of $1.13 (vs. ~$1.10 consensus) and revenue of $2.17B, with net income of $517M (up ~39% YoY) and revenue +12% YoY, signaling solid underlying performance. TMCNet Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Net interest income and fee income strength — management cited healthy NII and fee income contributions that helped drive the beat, supporting margin expansion potential as rates remain favorable. Zacks: NII & Fee Income
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — CFG announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share (ex-dividend Apr 30, payable May 14), implying a ~2.9% yield, which supports income‑oriented investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Detail access — full earnings slide deck and the Q1 earnings call transcript are available for investors who want line‑by‑line commentary from management on loans, NII drivers, and expense trends. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst revisions ahead of the print — several analysts had revised forecasts upward into the quarter, which raised expectations and could amplify share moves around the release. Benzinga: Analyst Revisions
• Negative Sentiment: Rising expenses — the beat came alongside higher operating expenses, which analysts highlighted as a drag on margins and the primary reason for the stock weakness in early trading. Zacks: Expenses Weigh
• Negative Sentiment: Share reaction — despite the beat, shares moved lower on the print (investors focused on costs and capital/efficiency metrics such as a mid‑single digit ROE), suggesting the market is looking for clearer proof of sustained margin improvement. Investing.com: Market Reaction

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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