AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Invests $108.86 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,657,167 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $108,864,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.61% of Citizens Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CFG. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth $46,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.05.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $48.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,575,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,834,574. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $49.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.05 and a 200-day moving average of $42.41. The company has a market capitalization of $21.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.