BlackRock Inc. Acquires Shares of 48,737,629 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 48.7 million shares of Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter, worth approximately $3.42 billion and representing an 11.57% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with 16 Buy ratings and four Holds; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $79.05. CFG also exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.30 EPS and $2.28 billion in revenue.
• Citizens Financial Group paid a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.84 and a 2.5% yield. Shares opened at $73.45, near their 52-week high of $75.33.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 48,737,629 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,415,046,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 11.57% of Citizens Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the bank's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the bank's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 19,694 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,270 shares of the bank's stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 7,719 shares of the bank's stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CFG shares. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of CFG stock opened at $73.45 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.96 and a 1 year high of $75.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

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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