Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $66.50 and last trading near $65.75, signaling improving technical momentum.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $77.28, despite some target reductions.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, exceeding estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 per share, representing a 3.2% annualized yield.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $65.52 and traded as high as $66.50. Citizens Financial Group shares last traded at $65.7480, with a volume of 3,289,198 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $89.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.28.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 18.07%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.85%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,386,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $95,642,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 12.4% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 145,378 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,187,000 after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $2,164,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 145.6% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 773,677 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,330,000 after acquiring an additional 458,698 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.

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