Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 13,704 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has made a new investment of $561,000 in Citizens Financial Group, purchasing 13,704 shares of the bank's stock.
• Citizens Financial Group recently reported earnings of $0.92 per share, surpassing analyst expectations by $0.04, and is anticipating an annual EPS of 3.92.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a yield of 3.6%, with plans for a significant stock repurchase program totaling $1.50 billion.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,704 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CFG. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during 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 during the period. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.79. The stock had a trading volume of 5,798,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,702,535. 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 of $44.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.67. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $49.98. The firm has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.78.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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 stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication 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 $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.