Short Interest in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Rises By 9.7%

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,650,000 shares, a growth of 9.7% from the August 31st total of 11,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock traded down $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $39.91. 5,415,188 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,399,405. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Citizens Financial Group has a 1 year low of $22.77 and a 1 year high of $43.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.49. The company has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.08.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $170,357.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,401.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 4.4% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,709,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,332,185,000 after buying an additional 1,552,333 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 113,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,429,264 shares of the bank’s stock worth $159,550,000 after buying an additional 587,115 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 61.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,422,948 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,909,000 after buying an additional 1,682,886 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,625,128 shares of the bank’s stock worth $130,722,000 after buying an additional 480,129 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.60.

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.