Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Announces Earnings Results

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10), RTT News reports. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $32.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.38. Citizens Financial Group has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $36.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.58.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 60.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CFG. Citigroup increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $151,198.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 644,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,358,000 after purchasing an additional 18,917 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 22,286 shares of the bank’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 4,566 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $247,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 261,455 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,000,000. Institutional investors 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.