Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on CFG. Barclays downgraded Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wedbush dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.13.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $35.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.68 and its 200-day moving average is $31.01. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $22.77 and a 1 year high of $36.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $213,219.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,265,704.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is 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.