61,146 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Bought by Ballast Inc.

Key Points

• Ballast Inc. increased its Citizens Financial Group position by 1,329.3% in the third quarter, buying 61,146 additional shares for a total holding of 65,746 shares valued at approximately $4.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.97, compared with the stock’s recent price of $64.07.
• Citizens Financial Group beat quarterly earnings estimates with EPS of $1.41 versus $1.39 expected and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 per share, implying a 3.2% annualized yield.

Ballast Inc. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 1,329.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,746 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 61,146 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group makes up approximately 0.8% of Ballast Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Ballast Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $4,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,415,046,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1,252.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,204,563 shares of the bank's stock valued at $586,883,000 after acquiring an additional 8,523,938 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $223,386,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter worth $207,234,000. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $188,380,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CFG shares. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Argus set a $80.00 price objective on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.97.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.07. 2,039,321 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,622,022. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.13. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.00 and a 1-year high of $75.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 18.07%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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