Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 95,133 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 72.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,497 shares of the bank's stock after selling 95,133 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the first 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 position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CFG shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research 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. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.68.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,302,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,833,611. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $49.25. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $40.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.76.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 53.33%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.