Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Shares Gap Up to $32.41

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.41, but opened at $33.28. Citizens Financial Group shares last traded at $33.28, with a volume of 4,663,974 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays cut Citizens Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.88.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.8 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.54. The company has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 76.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,002,482 shares of the bank's stock valued at $861,383,000 after purchasing an additional 8,203,831 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 217.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,978,410 shares of the bank's stock valued at $213,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,465,824 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $192,928,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,213.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,746,064 shares of the bank's stock valued at $100,395,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460,792 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,297,989 shares of the bank's stock valued at $720,392,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,751 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.