Wedbush Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) - Research analysts at Wedbush reduced their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report issued on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the bank will earn $0.76 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.78. Wedbush has a "Neutral" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Citizens Financial Group's current full-year earnings is $3.21 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Citizens Financial Group's Q2 2024 earnings at $0.80 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.85 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.35 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.91 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.07 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.05 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.63.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of CFG stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $36.29. 3,765,345 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,954,991. Citizens Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $36.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.36. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $32.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.80.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.26). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $5,965,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 22,286 shares of the bank's stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 4,566 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $194,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 12,994 shares of the bank's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 2,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $151,198.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.02%.

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.