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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%.

Citizens Financial Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.5% per year over the last three years. Citizens Financial Group has a dividend payout ratio of 41.9% indicating that 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $33.00 on Thursday. Citizens Financial Group has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $36.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.25 and a 200 day moving average of $30.56.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup raised Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $151,198.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CFG. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 53.4% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,957 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

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.