B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Lowers Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 57.9% in the first quarter, now owning 45,514 shares valued at $1,865,000 after selling 62,524 shares.
• Multiple institutional investors, including AustralianSuper Pty Ltd and Deutsche Bank AG, made significant changes to their positions in Citizens Financial Group, indicating an active investment landscape surrounding the bank.
• Citizens Financial Group reported $0.92 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.2%.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG cut its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 57.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,514 shares of the bank's stock after selling 62,524 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $108,864,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 11,167.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,347,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,577 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,486,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 916,760 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,244,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. 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 1.6%

Shares of CFG traded up $0.82 on Thursday, reaching $52.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,806,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,443,233. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.11. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $52.53.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid 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 (DPR) is presently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership 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.