16,392 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Bought by Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Newman Dignan & Sheerar raised its Citizens Financial Group stake by 89.4% in the third quarter to 34,726 shares valued at approximately $2.21 million. Overall, hedge funds and institutional investors own 94.9% of CFG.
• Analysts remain generally positive: Citizens Financial Group carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $77.47. The bank also reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, narrowly exceeding estimates.
• Dividend increased while CEO sold shares: CFG raised its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.52, equivalent to a 3.2% annual yield. Separately, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares worth about $9.3 million, reducing his direct ownership by 10.19%.

Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 89.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,726 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 16,392 shares during the period. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 4,857.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,302 shares of the bank's stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 11,074 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $8,425,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1,399.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 376,226 shares of the bank's stock worth $23,988,000 after purchasing an additional 351,143 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 649.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,063,823 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,829,000 after acquiring an additional 921,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7,979.7% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 12,165,352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $775,663,000 after purchasing an additional 12,014,785 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Stephens reduced their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $64.25 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.00 and a twelve month high of $75.33. The company's 50 day moving average is $67.66 and its 200 day moving average is $67.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.85%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.

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