Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG) stock analysis
Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG) clears 8 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 5 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 5 of 5 Lynch-style checks. A free-cash-flow DCF does not fit banking companies, so no margin of safety is shown. It returns +4.5% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does Citizens Financial Group do?
Citizens Financial Group is a regional bank holding company that serves consumers and businesses mainly in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest.
What stands out about Citizens Financial Group?
- No filter fails. CFG passes 8 of the 8 value filters. See every filter.
- Weakest against peers: return on equity. At 9% (peer median 11%) it ranks 11th of 13 among banking stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Returns 4.5% of its value to owners a year. Dividends plus buybacks, minus the stock issued to staff, as a share of market value. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Priced at 12.0 times earnings. Price-to-book is 1.1 and return on equity 8.7%. See the value diligence check.
How has Citizens Financial Group's share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is Citizens Financial Group undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) n/a (Banking)
- P/E vs. its own history 12.0x · the middle Real range: 8.7x–13.9x over 5 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 4.04/5 23 analysts this month: 5 strong buy, 14 buy, 4 hold, 0 sell, 0 strong sell (Finnhub).
- Altman Z″-Score (bankruptcy risk) n/a (Banking)
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) n/a (bank, insurer or REIT)
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) +4.5% net Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 2.8% + buybacks 2.2% − stock comp 0.4%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 13 years its split-adjusted share count fell 22%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) n/a (bank, insurer, lender or REIT)
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 0.58 · Under fair P/E 12.0× ÷ 20.9% a year of growth behind it. 44th lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 2 of 4 · misses capital-light (n/a), real profit (n/a) Capital-light growth: cannot be measured (bank, insurer, lender or REIT); Profit is real: cannot be measured (bank, insurer or REIT); Cash to owners: cleared; Fair price (PEG): cleared. See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Munger's Inversion Check 0 flags
- Standing vs. sector peers 0 of 4 measures above the median Compared with the 12 other banking stocks this site tracks: 0 in the top third, 2 in the bottom third.
- Dividend payout sustainability 0/6 · clean
How does Citizens Financial Group compare with its peers?
0 of 4 measures sit above the median of the 12 other banking stocks tracked here, 2 in the bottom third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 11.1× 12.0× ✕10th of 13
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 11% 9% ✕11th of 13
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 28.8% 24.6% –8th of 13
- Dividend yieldamong dividend payers · peer median 3.36% 3.36% –7th of 13
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and CFG doesn't clear enough of it yet. In its favor: CFG carries a conservative amount of debt relative to equity, converts sales into profit at healthy margins, has grown earnings per share at a solid clip over five years, is trading below what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth - his own "price is what you pay, value is what you get" test, not a fixed multiple ceiling, and trades at a reasonable multiple of owner earnings, his own term for the real cash a business could pay out. Where it comes up short: CFG isn't clearing the return-on-equity bar he'd want to see right now, and its five-year average return on equity falls short too, so this isn't just a one-off dip, and doesn't cover its interest expense as comfortably as he'd want.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✕
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✓
- Pretax margin > 15% ✓
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✓
- Interest coverage > 5x ✕
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✓
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✓
- Bonus: returning capital via buybacks FY2025
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and CFG clears his bar. In its favor: CFG clears an even tighter PEG-under-1 bar he'd want for a stock growing this fast, is growing earnings 20-50% a year, his classic fast-grower zone, isn't leaning on debt to fund that growth, isn't asking too much even by a fast grower's usual richer multiple, and is generating real cash to back up a fast grower's higher price tag.
- PEG < 1 (stricter for fast growers) ✓
- EPS growth 20%-50% ✓
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✓
- P/E < 40 ✓
- Price/FCF < 40 ✓
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does Citizens Financial Group pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $27.3B
- Trailing P/E < 25 12.05
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 0.58
- Price/Book < 8 1.09
- Price/Sales < 7 1.48
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% +31.7%
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) -3.2%
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) -0.3%
What is Citizens Financial Group's margin of safety?
A standard free-cash-flow DCF doesn't fit how banking companies report cash flow.
Where is Citizens Financial Group in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in Citizens Financial Group?
16,975,977 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily.
What could go wrong with Citizens Financial Group? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case n/a (Banking)
- Short interest under 5% of float 4.1%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 6/6 passed
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have Citizens Financial Group shareholders gained per year?
Earnings growth per share plus dividend.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from CFG's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do Citizens Financial Group's 10-year financials show?
From CFG's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about Citizens Financial Group
What kind of company is Citizens Financial Group?
Citizens Financial Group is a regional bank holding company that serves consumers and businesses mainly in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest. This site groups it with Banking stocks.
Why does Citizens Financial Group have no margin of safety on this site?
This site's DCF values a company from its free cash flow, and that does not fit banks, whose operating cash flow swings with deposits and loans rather than with what is left over for owners. So CFG gets no margin of safety; judge it on the other checks on this page, such as its filters, shareholder yield and ranking against its peers. The method is in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does Citizens Financial Group pass?
CFG passes 8 of 8. It passes Market Cap > $25B ($27.3B), Trailing P/E < 25 (12.05), PEG Ratio < 1.5 (0.58), Price/Book < 8 (1.09), Price/Sales < 7 (1.48), EPS Growth YoY > -5% (+31.7%), vs 50-day MA (±12%) (-3.2%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) (-0.3%). The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
Does Citizens Financial Group pass the Buffett-style and Lynch-style checklists?
On this site's Buffett-style checklist CFG clears 5 of 8 checks and leans no; it misses ROE (TTM) > 11%, ROE (5yr avg) > 11% and Interest coverage > 5x. On the Lynch-style checklist it clears 5 of 5 and leans yes, with Fast Grower as its Lynch category. These are this site's own rules written in the style of each investor, not their personal views; the rules are in the Editorial Standards.
How much cash does Citizens Financial Group return to shareholders?
CFG's net shareholder yield is +4.5%: the cash it returns through dividends and buybacks, minus stock-based compensation, as a share of its market value. Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 2.8% + buybacks 2.2% − stock comp 0.4%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 13 years its split-adjusted share count fell 22%. Its trailing dividend yield is 3.36%, paid out of 35% of its free cash flow; the dividend-sustainability check raises 0 of 6 flags. See Shareholder Yield Leaders and the Sustainable Dividend Screener.
How fast has Citizens Financial Group grown its revenue and profit?
From fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2025, CFG's revenue grew from $5.3 billion to $8.2 billion, 5.1% a year. Net income went from $1.0 billion to $1.8 billion, and its net profit margin from 19.9% to 22.2%. Earnings per share went from $1.99 to $4.19 on today's share count, 8.6% a year. All figures are from CFG's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR) and are shown year by year in the 10-Year Financials section of the card above.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: Citizens Financial Group's 10-K annual report for the year ended Dec 31, 2025, filed Feb 12, 2026 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this Citizens Financial Group Inc analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.