Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Cut to “Hold” at Baird R W

Baird R W downgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on CFG. Citigroup lowered Citizens Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, October 16th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.71.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:CFG opened at $58.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.74. Citizens Financial Group has a 52 week low of $32.60 and a 52 week high of $59.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.50 and a 200 day moving average of $49.42.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 51.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Investors Research Corp increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% during the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 16,900.0% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 736 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 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.