Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Sets New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $41.35 and last traded at $40.81, with a volume of 3699820 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.60.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CFG. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.75.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.20.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 352.8% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,011 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 31,915 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 5,180 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,234.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,100,988 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,971 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 20,220 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 6,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.