Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Trims Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 24.3%, now holding 510,100 shares valued at approximately $20.90 million.
• Citizens Financial Group reported earnings of $0.92 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations for the quarter, with a quarterly revenue increase of 3.8% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $1.50 billion share buyback plan indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued, along with maintaining a quarterly dividend yielding 3.2%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 24.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 510,100 shares of the bank's stock after selling 164,100 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.12% of Citizens Financial Group worth $20,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.5%

CFG stock traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.71. 2,973,484 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,717,726. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $52.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.62 and a 200-day moving average of $43.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%.The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.53.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.