Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays cut shares of Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.29.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded up $1.09 on Friday, reaching $33.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,999,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,923,239. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.63. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $151,198.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,902.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 76.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,002,482 shares of the bank’s stock worth $861,383,000 after acquiring an additional 8,203,831 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 217.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,978,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $213,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,465,824 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $192,928,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1,213.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,746,064 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,395,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460,792 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,297,989 shares of the bank’s stock worth $720,392,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,751 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.