Bank of Nova Scotia Has $3.53 Million Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stakes in Citizens Financial Group by 81.2%, holding 86,242 shares valued at approximately $3.53 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Citizens Financial Group is expected to post an EPS of 3.92 for the current year and reported a quarterly earnings of $0.92 per share, surpassing analyst estimates.
• The bank plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share and has authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $1.50 billion, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 81.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,242 shares of the bank's stock after selling 372,372 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Argus set a $45.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.29. The company had a trading volume of 3,150,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,305,761. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $49.98. 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 stock has a market cap of $20.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.69.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.06%.

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.