Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CFG. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $37.13.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $35.15 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.68 and a 200 day moving average of $30.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total transaction of $213,219.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,032 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,977,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,343 shares of the bank’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,737 shares of the bank’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,071 shares of the bank’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Connable Office Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 17,319 shares of the bank’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.