Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.98 and last traded at $43.72, with a volume of 806785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.80.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.07.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 6.21%. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $170,357.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,401.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 12.7% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 88,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,648,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,059 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,768,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.