ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Invests $1.04 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has taken a new position in Citizens Financial Group, acquiring 25,323 shares valued at approximately $1,037,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Certain analysts have raised price targets for Citizens Financial Group, with Barclays increasing their target from $49.00 to $55.00, indicating positive sentiment around the stock's performance.
• The bank recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42, representing a 3.6% annual yield, and announced a stock buyback plan to repurchase up to $1.50 billion of its shares.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,323 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CFG. Capital World Investors grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 35,900,115 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,570,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,838 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,683,111 shares of the bank's stock worth $423,733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,204 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,247,238 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,378,000 after acquiring an additional 374,850 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 32.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,689,082 shares of the bank's stock worth $205,194,000 after acquiring an additional 96,067 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE CFG traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.09. 1,280,768 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,829,126. The stock has a market cap of $20.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $49.98.

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

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 51.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CFG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.53.

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.