Bastion Asset Management Inc. Buys New Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Bastion Asset Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, purchasing 74,693 shares valued at approximately $3,058,000, making it 28th in their holdings.
• Citizens Financial Group recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.92 per share, exceeding expectations and showing a revenue increase of 3.8% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a stock repurchase program allowing for the reacquisition of up to $1.50 billion in shares, reflecting management's belief that its stock is undervalued.

Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 74,693 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,058,000. Citizens Financial Group accounts for 1.7% of Bastion Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,766 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the bank's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 53,879 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 32,767 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 17,386 shares of the bank's stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $49.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.76. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $49.98. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for 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 business earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CFG. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.05.

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.

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