Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Short Interest Down 7.4% in August

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,530,000 shares, a decline of 7.4% from the August 15th total of 12,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $170,357.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,401.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Private Ocean LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 484.4% in the second quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 3.1 %

Citizens Financial Group stock traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.97. 1,898,094 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,389,991. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.01. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $43.96. The firm has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The business’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CFG. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.20.

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.