JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Price Target to $78.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised its Citizens Financial Group price target to $78 from $76 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 8.36% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: Citizens has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $79.05, with 17 analysts issuing Buy ratings and three issuing Hold ratings.
• Citizens reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, exceeding estimates of $1.25, while revenue rose 12.1% year over year to $2.28 billion. Shares traded down 1.3% at $71.98, near the company’s 52-week high of $74.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $76.00 to $78.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the bank's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.36% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $71.98. 1,622,136 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,947,367. The stock has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Citizens Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $45.90 and a fifty-two week high of $74.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,513,000 after buying an additional 10,466 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank's stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,934,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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