Short Interest in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Increases By 12.8%

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 14,270,000 shares, a growth of 12.8% from the September 15th total of 12,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.07.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE CFG opened at $42.42 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.97. Citizens Financial Group has a twelve month low of $22.77 and a twelve month high of $44.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.07.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share 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 quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 60.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $170,357.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,401.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,709,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,332,185,000 after buying an additional 1,552,333 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,580,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,106,000 after purchasing an additional 113,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,429,264 shares of the bank’s stock worth $159,550,000 after purchasing an additional 587,115 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 61.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,422,948 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,625,128 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $130,722,000 after purchasing an additional 480,129 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is 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.