Amundi Lowers Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 20.7%, owning approximately 11.1 million shares valued at $454.43 million after selling nearly 2.9 million shares in the first quarter.
• Citizens Financial Group's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.92, exceeding expectations, with revenue up 3.8% year-over-year at $2.04 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share and has a stock buyback program authorized for up to $1.50 billion, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Amundi trimmed its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,091,694 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,900,683 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 2.54% of Citizens Financial Group worth $454,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 160.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 15,339 shares of the bank's stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 9,440 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,801,856 shares of the bank's stock worth $278,672,000 after buying an additional 554,618 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $313,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $132,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $38,915,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE CFG traded up $0.04 on Monday, hitting $51.75. 3,394,407 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,715,664. The business's fifty day moving average is $48.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.09. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $52.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on CFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.53.

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.