Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Upgraded to “Overweight” by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $41.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $35.00.

CFG has been the subject of several other research reports. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 note on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Barclays downgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $37.13.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:CFG opened at $35.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.95.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $151,198.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CFG. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 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.