Short Interest in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Drops By 11.3%

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,900,000 shares, a decrease of 11.3% from the May 31st total of 8,910,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE CFG traded down $0.33 on Wednesday, hitting $36.05. 2,516,894 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,320,329. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.10. Citizens Financial Group has a 1-year low of $22.77 and a 1-year high of $37.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 37,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 40.4% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler raised Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $36.50 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.73.

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.