APG Asset Management N.V. Lowers Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. has sold 37,886 shares of Citizens Financial Group, reducing its holding by 9.1% to a total of 378,818 shares worth approximately $14.37 million.
• The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.88 and showing a revenue increase of 3.8% year-over-year.
• Citizens Financial Group's board has authorized a share repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to $1.50 billion in stock, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.

APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 378,818 shares of the bank's stock after selling 37,886 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.09% of Citizens Financial Group worth $14,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CFG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $108,864,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,186,364 shares of the bank's stock worth $270,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,536 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 11,167.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,347,537 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,577 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,486,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,790,291 shares of the bank's stock valued at $114,318,000 after purchasing an additional 916,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cowen assumed coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. DA Davidson lifted 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. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of CFG traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,616,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,871,637. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.93. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $52.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors 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 was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group 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.