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

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 31.2% in the second quarter, adding 875,666 shares to hold approximately 0.88% of the bank, valued at $258.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 16 Buy ratings and four Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $79.25, above the reported $70.81 share price.
• Citizens Financial Group exceeded quarterly expectations, posting $1.30 in earnings per share versus the $1.25 estimate and $2.28 billion in revenue. The bank also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

Amundi grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 31.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,685,819 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 875,666 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.88% of Citizens Financial Group worth $258,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 319.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 424 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Stephens raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CFG opened at $70.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.49 and a 200 day moving average of $65.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $47.96 and a one year high of $75.33. The company has a market capitalization of $29.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.66.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

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.

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