Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Short Interest Down 11.3% in June

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,900,000 shares, a decline of 11.3% from the May 31st total of 8,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of CFG traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $36.05. 2,516,894 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,320,329. The firm has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.10. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $37.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CFG shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Argus boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $36.50 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.73.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $213,219.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,265,704.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 96,350 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,497,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,027 shares of the bank’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.