Citizens Financial Group (CFG) Competitors

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) and Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Does the media refer more to CFG or FITB?

In the previous week, Citizens Financial Group had 2 more articles in the media than Fifth Third Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for Citizens Financial Group and 15 mentions for Fifth Third Bancorp. Fifth Third Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.62 beat Citizens Financial Group's score of 1.21 indicating that Fifth Third Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Citizens Financial Group	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Fifth Third Bancorp	14 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do analysts rate CFG or FITB?

Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus target price of $51.53, suggesting a potential upside of 10.12%. Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus target price of $47.80, suggesting a potential upside of 16.84%. Given Fifth Third Bancorp's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Fifth Third Bancorp is more favorable than Citizens Financial Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Citizens Financial Group	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89
Fifth Third Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82

Is CFG or FITB more profitable?

Fifth Third Bancorp has a net margin of 17.97% compared to Citizens Financial Group's net margin of 13.26%. Fifth Third Bancorp's return on equity of 13.31% beat Citizens Financial Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Citizens Financial Group	13.26%	6.94%	0.72%
Fifth Third Bancorp	17.97%	13.31%	1.15%

Is CFG or FITB a better dividend stock?

Citizens Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Fifth Third Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Citizens Financial Group pays out 51.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fifth Third Bancorp pays out 46.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Fifth Third Bancorp has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Fifth Third Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, CFG or FITB?

Citizens Financial Group has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fifth Third Bancorp has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, CFG or FITB?

Fifth Third Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens Financial Group. Fifth Third Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Citizens Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Citizens Financial Group	$12.36B	1.65	$1.51B	$3.29	14.22
Fifth Third Bancorp	$13.28B	2.06	$2.31B	$3.22	12.70

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of CFG or FITB?

94.9% of Citizens Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Citizens Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Fifth Third Bancorp beats Citizens Financial Group on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.