Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.80.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.50 and a 200-day moving average of $38.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.07.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 10.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CFG. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 35.9% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 78,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,838,000 after buying an additional 20,649 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 101.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 761,679 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,641,000 after purchasing an additional 383,947 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $1,180,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 642.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 272,676 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,895,000 after buying an additional 235,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,045.4% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,692 shares of the bank’s stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 23,449 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently 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.