Short Interest in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Declines By 21.8%

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,410,000 shares, a decline of 21.8% from the October 15th total of 18,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CFG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 13,177 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 12.7% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 11,395 shares of the bank’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the first 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. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 88,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,648,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.78. The stock had a trading volume of 3,793,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,555,918. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.19 and its 200 day moving average is $39.42. Citizens Financial Group has a one year low of $26.13 and a one year high of $48.35.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.14%.

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.