Capital International Investors Buys 1,953,372 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,953,372 shares and ending with 8,000,750 shares valued at about $467.4 million.
• Citizens Financial Group beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.13 EPS versus the $1.10 consensus and revenue of $2.17 billion, up 12% from a year earlier.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share and currently offers an annualized yield of 2.9%; analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a price target of $70.88.

Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,000,750 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 1,953,372 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned about 1.86% of Citizens Financial Group worth $467,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 10,466 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank's stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 4,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,934,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG opened at $64.09 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.88. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.17 and a 1-year high of $68.79.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 43.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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