Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Acquires 318,700 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec has increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 139.8%, acquiring an additional 318,700 shares to reach a total of 546,669 shares.
• The bank reported earnings per share of $0.92 in its latest quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations and representing a 3.8% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• Citizens Financial Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, marking a yield of 3.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 51.06%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 139.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 546,669 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 318,700 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.13% of Citizens Financial Group worth $22,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $52.30. 2,616,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,712,555. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $52.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.11 and a 200 day moving average of $42.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.53.

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.