Raymond James Upgrades Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) to Strong-Buy

Raymond James upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $55.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

CFG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, 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, October 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $42.66 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $30.24 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its 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 10.37% and a return on equity of 5.73%. 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 business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 66.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $590,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 655,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,368,000 after acquiring an additional 29,940 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 292.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 69,851 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 52,039 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 43,969 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.