Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Invests $1.84 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC opened a new position in Citizens Financial Group, buying 31,473 shares valued at about $1.84 million in the fourth quarter.
• Citizens Financial Group reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $1.13 versus the $1.10 estimate, while revenue rose 12% year over year to $2.17 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.0%; meanwhile, analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $70.88.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 31,473 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,838,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $87,173,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,594,326 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 160.4% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,448,050 shares of the bank's stock valued at $142,991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,070 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 411.6% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,729,587 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,483 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,574,714 shares of the bank's stock valued at $384,029,000 after acquiring an additional 763,098 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE:CFG opened at $60.41 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $61.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.57. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.80 and a 52-week high of $68.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.50%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.88.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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.

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