Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $45.83 and last traded at $45.80, with a volume of 104679 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens lifted 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, July 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.80.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.07.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.