Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Issues Earnings Results

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10), RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $32.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.58. Citizens Financial Group has a twelve month low of $22.77 and a twelve month high of $36.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.38.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CFG shares. TheStreet raised Citizens Financial Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.29.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,471,902.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 29.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 53,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,442,000 after buying an additional 12,350 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 57,027 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,531 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 9.3% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 71,237 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after acquiring an additional 6,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 38,619 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.