Bastion Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Shares in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Bastion Asset Management initiated a new position in Citizens Financial Group, buying 27,213 shares valued at about $1.62 million in the first quarter.
• Analysts remain largely bullish on CFG, with 16 Buy ratings and four Hold ratings; the consensus price target is $75.10, while several firms recently raised their targets.
• Citizens Financial Group posted a strong quarter, with EPS of $1.30 topping estimates and revenue rising 12.1% year over year, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share.

Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 27,213 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,621,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.10.

More Citizens Financial Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens Financial beat Q2 earnings estimates with EPS of $1.30 versus $1.25 expected, while revenue rose 12.1% year over year and net income climbed 35%, signaling solid operating momentum. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s raised net interest margin outlook added to optimism, suggesting profitability could improve further in coming quarters. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Higher net interest income and fee income were key drivers of the profit jump, indicating stronger core banking revenue and healthier business trends. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup? No—Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on CFG to $80 and reiterated an overweight rating, reinforcing a bullish analyst view after the results. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call option activity ahead of the earnings release suggests traders were positioning for upside, but it does not by itself change the company’s fundamentals.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG stock opened at $74.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $66.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.53. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.90 and a 52-week high of $74.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.50%.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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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