Center For Asset Management LLC Makes New $636,000 Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Center For Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,533 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CFG. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,284 shares of the bank's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Salzhauer Michael grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,034.7% during the fourth quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 179,301 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,846,000 after buying an additional 163,500 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,260 shares of the bank's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 1,959 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,591 shares of the bank's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 45,479 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,199,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.9%

CFG opened at $41.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The company has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $39.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.21.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 6.84%. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 53.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CFG. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.89.

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.

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