Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.42 (NYSE:CFG)

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.42 per share by the bank on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%.

Citizens Financial Group has raised its dividend by an average of 2.5% annually over the last three years. Citizens Financial Group has a payout ratio of 41.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Citizens Financial Group to earn $4.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.8%.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock traded up $0.76 on Wednesday, hitting $33.17. 5,038,867 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,881,044. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Citizens Financial Group has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $36.38. The company has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.26). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $151,198.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,902.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $212,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 53.4% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,957 shares of the bank’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.88.

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.