Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10), RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 13.19%. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE CFG traded down $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $32.90. 5,066,244 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,895,538. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.28 and a 200-day moving average of $30.58. Citizens Financial Group has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $36.38. The company has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $151,198.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,902.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 93.6% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 964 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 62.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,109 shares of the bank's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 812 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 recently issued reports on CFG. StockNews.com cut shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.88.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.