Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Purchased by Causeway Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 31.3%, acquiring an additional 239,646 shares, bringing its total ownership to over 1 million shares valued at approximately $41.1 million.
• Citizens Financial Group reported earnings per share of $0.92, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue of $2.04 billion for the most recent quarter, marking a 3.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company has authorized a $1.50 billion stock repurchase program to buy back up to 8.5% of its stock, indicating confidence in its value.

Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 31.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,004,199 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 239,646 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Citizens Financial Group worth $41,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 147,726 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,052,000 after purchasing an additional 12,476 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $183,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 139.8% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 546,669 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,397,000 after purchasing an additional 318,700 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 48.2% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 172,984 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,087,000 after purchasing an additional 56,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICONIQ Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.30. 2,616,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,871,637. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock's 50-day moving average is $47.92 and its 200-day moving average is $42.93. The firm has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.78. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $52.53.

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

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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.