Citizens Financial Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CFG)

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 9,343 call options on the company. This is an increase of 196% compared to the average daily volume of 3,154 call options.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $36.38 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $37.30. The company has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.82.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CFG shares. Wedbush dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 5th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,640 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.