Wedbush Has Pessimistic Outlook of CFG FY2024 Earnings

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) – Wedbush reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Citizens Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 16th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the bank will post earnings of $3.25 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $3.26. The consensus estimate for Citizens Financial Group’s current full-year earnings is $3.22 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Citizens Financial Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.85 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.00 EPS.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.80.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $42.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.07. Citizens Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $44.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,709,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,332,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,333 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,580,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $237,106,000 after purchasing an additional 113,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,429,264 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $159,550,000 after buying an additional 587,115 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 61.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,422,948 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $155,909,000 after buying an additional 1,682,886 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,625,128 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $130,722,000 after purchasing an additional 480,129 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $170,357.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,401.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.87%.

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.