Wedbush Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) – Analysts at Wedbush decreased their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report issued on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the bank will earn $0.76 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.78. Wedbush has a “Neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Citizens Financial Group’s current full-year earnings is $3.21 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Citizens Financial Group’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.80 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.85 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.35 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.91 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.07 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.05 EPS.

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

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CFG. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. TheStreet upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Barclays lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.63.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $36.29 on Thursday. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $36.35. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $32.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.80. The firm has a market cap of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.36.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 54.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $151,198.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 53,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,442,000 after acquiring an additional 12,350 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 57,027 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,531 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 71,237 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after purchasing an additional 6,060 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 38,619 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.