BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Reduces Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 82% in the first quarter, leaving it with 5,303 shares worth about $318,000.
• Citizens Financial Group reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $1.13 EPS versus the $1.10 consensus and revenue of $2.17 billion, up 12% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share and has attracted mostly bullish analyst coverage, with 18 Buy ratings and an average Moderate Buy target of $71.36.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lessened its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 82.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,303 shares of the bank's stock after selling 24,192 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE CFG opened at $70.51 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.33 and a 1 year high of $71.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $29.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.43 and a 200 day moving average of $62.23.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.36.

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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