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

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10), RTT News reports. The firm 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 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $32.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.87. Citizens Financial Group has a one year low of $22.77 and a one year high of $36.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.58.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. 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 research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.88.

Insider Activity

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CFG. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.6% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 964 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.