Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $32.41, but opened at $33.28. Citizens Financial Group shares last traded at $33.28, with a volume of 4,663,974 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CFG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays cut Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. TheStreet raised Citizens Financial Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.29.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 1.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Kinneret Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,071 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connable Office Inc. lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 17,319 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.