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

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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 daily volume of 5,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.91. The stock had a trading volume of 5,415,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,399,405. The firm has a market cap 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.49. Citizens Financial Group has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $43.96.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $170,357.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,401.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 35.9% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 78,203 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,838,000 after buying an additional 20,649 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 101.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 761,679 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,641,000 after purchasing an additional 383,947 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $1,180,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,965,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $930,000. 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 a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. 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 note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.