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Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG – Get Rating) – Research analysts at Wedbush lifted their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, March 29th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $1.28 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.20. Wedbush has a “Neutral” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Citizens Financial Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.98 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Citizens Financial Group’s Q2 2024 earnings at $1.29 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $1.30 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.27 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $5.15 EPS.
Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 22.86{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} and a return on equity of 11.24{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}.
CFG has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 5th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.78.
Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.2 {21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}
NYSE CFG opened at $30.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Citizens Financial Group has a twelve month low of $28.79 and a twelve month high of $48.98. The stock has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.37.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 76.0{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,002,482 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $861,383,000 after purchasing an additional 8,203,831 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $192,928,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 18.0{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,297,989 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $720,392,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,751 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 444.3{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,852,267 shares of the bank’s stock worth $101,799,000 after acquiring an additional 2,328,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Vance Management boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 899.7{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} during the 3rd quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 2,319,890 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087,841 shares during the last quarter. 88.96{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Kevin Cummings sold 81,151 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $3,603,104.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 455,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,237,031.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of the company’s stock.
Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.15 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5.6{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.46{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 41.18{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}.
Citizens Financial Group Company Profile
Citizens Financial Group, Inc engages in the provision of commercial banking services. It operates through the Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking segments. The Consumer Banking segment includes deposit products, mortgage and home equity lending, student loans, auto financing, credit cards, business loans, and wealth management and investment services.
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