Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.46

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share (annualized $1.84) payable May 14 to shareholders of record April 30, implying a yield of about 2.9% and a payout ratio near 37% that indicates the dividend is covered by earnings.
• The bank beat the quarter's expectations with $1.13 EPS (vs. $1.09 expected) and revenue of $2.17 billion, up 12% year-over-year, and analysts project continued multi-dollar EPS that should sustain the dividend coverage.
• Insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares in March (a 7.4% reduction of her holding), while institutions own roughly 94.9% of the stock; CFG trades around $64.31 with a market cap near $27.3 billion and a PE of ~16.6.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.46 per share by the bank on Thursday, May 14th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th.

Citizens Financial Group has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years. Citizens Financial Group has a payout ratio of 37.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Citizens Financial Group to earn $4.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.9%.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,467,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,289,809. The business's 50-day moving average is $61.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.93. The company has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group has a 52-week low of $33.95 and a 52-week high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 15.19%.Citizens Financial Group's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc NYSE: CFG is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.

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