Allianz SE Invests $338,000 in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Allianz SE has invested $338,000 in Citizens Financial Group by acquiring 8,254 shares during the first quarter.
• Citizens Financial Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, yielding 3.6%, to be paid on August 14th.
• The company's stock has been rated with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $51.53 based on recent analyst upgrades.

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,254 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,766 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the bank's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 53,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 32,767 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 17,386 shares of the bank's stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CFG. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Argus set a $45.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $46.79 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average is $44.60 and its 200 day moving average is $42.67. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.60 and a 52 week high of $49.98.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.