69,448 Shares in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Purchased by Ninety One North America Inc.

Key Points

• Ninety One North America bought a new position of 69,448 shares of Citizens Financial Group in Q4 (≈$4.06M); overall institutional ownership is high at 94.90%, with other large recent buyers including Ninety One UK, Alyeska and Zurich (Zurich increased its stake by 326%).
• Citizens beat Q1 expectations (EPS $1.13 vs. $1.10; revenue $2.17B, +12% YoY), announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (annualized yield ≈2.9%), and has seen multiple analyst target raises leaving a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a $70.90 price target.

Ninety One North America Inc. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 69,448 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,056,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $308,946,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $87,173,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 326.3% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 2,082,961 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594,326 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $60,434,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,511,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $64.42 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.95 and a twelve month high of $68.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.40 and a 200 day moving average of $58.05. The company has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.55%.

Key Headlines Impacting Citizens Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat: CFG reported EPS $1.13 and revenue $2.17B, with net income up ~39% YoY and strong YoY EPS growth — core drivers were NII and fee income. This is the primary near‑term catalyst for the stock. TMCNet Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Margin expansion & private banking: Analysts and commentary highlight margin expansion and growth in private/wealth channels as sustainable earnings levers, supporting higher earnings estimates. Seeking Alpha Margin Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price target raises: Multiple firms raised targets (RBC to $70/outperform; Keefe Bruyette & Woods to $72/outperform; Truist to $69/hold), signaling ~7–12% upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Benzinga TickerReport The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared: CFG announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (annualized yield ~2.9%) with an ex‑dividend date of Apr 30 — supports income investors and base valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call & deep dive coverage: Transcripts and analyst deep dives (earnings slide deck and call transcripts) provide more detail on capital deployment, credit trends and guidance; useful for modeling forward EPS. Earnings Call Transcript Yahoo Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Rising expenses & uncertainty: Some coverage flagged higher operating expenses and geopolitical/market uncertainty, which trimmed pre‑market gains despite the beat and could pressure near‑term margins if the trend continues. Zacks on Expenses

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CFG. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $77.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.90.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.