Bank of America Corp DE Purchases 126,499 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 4.9%, purchasing 126,499 shares to bring its holdings to 2.68 million shares valued at approximately $160.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 17 Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $79.05.
• Citizens Financial Group exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.30 in EPS and $2.28 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, equivalent to a 2.5% annual yield.

Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,682,294 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 126,499 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.63% of Citizens Financial Group worth $160,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was 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 approximately $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CFG shares. Stephens increased their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $73.64 on Thursday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.53 and a 52 week high of $74.70. The business's 50 day moving average price is $69.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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