Allianz Asset Management GmbH Buys 335,835 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 123.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 607,046 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 335,835 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.14% of Citizens Financial Group worth $24,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salzhauer Michael lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,034.7% in the fourth quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 179,301 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,846,000 after buying an additional 163,500 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 223,731 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,790,000 after purchasing an additional 7,534 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 248,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,856,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 392,417 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,172,000 after purchasing an additional 8,321 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 730,178 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,537,000 after purchasing an additional 91,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on CFG shares. Cowen started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Argus set a $45.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.05.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.48. 5,219,163 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,947,175. The firm has a market cap of $21.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.76. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.60 and a 52 week high of $49.98. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $43.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.06%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.