Short Interest in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Decreases By 9.7%

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,070,000 shares, a decline of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 20,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.18. The company had a trading volume of 4,949,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,881,044. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $15.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.38. Citizens Financial Group has a twelve month low of $22.77 and a twelve month high of $36.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.21 and its 200-day moving average is $30.54.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.26). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 13.19%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 43,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,537 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 29.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 53,879 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after buying an additional 12,350 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 57,027 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,585,000 after buying an additional 3,531 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 71,237 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,229,000 after buying an additional 6,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 38,619 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays downgraded shares of 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 reduced their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.88.

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.