Caxton Associates LLP Purchases New Shares in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired 31,535 shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., valued at approximately $1.29 million, as part of their new position in the bank's stock.
• Citizens Financial Group reported Q2 earnings of $0.92 EPS, surpassing estimates and indicating a 3.8% year-over-year revenue growth of $2.04 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.2%, along with an approved stock buyback program worth $1.50 billion.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 31,535 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,292,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $108,864,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 11,167.0% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,347,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,577 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 19.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,366,754 shares of the bank's stock valued at $294,007,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,390 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,486,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,915,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on CFG shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. TD Cowen started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $61.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.82. 3,733,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,398,912. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $52.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.36. The firm has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%.The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.