Cetera Investment Advisers Cuts Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has reduced its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 22.8%, now owning 120,004 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million after selling 35,414 shares in Q1.
• The company's latest earnings report showed EPS of $0.92, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.88, with revenue increasing by 3.8% year-over-year.
• Citizens Financial Group announced a $1.50 billion share buyback program, aimed at repurchasing up to 8.5% of its outstanding shares indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 120,004 shares of the bank's stock after selling 35,414 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $4,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salzhauer Michael raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 163,500 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 717,542 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,400,000 after purchasing an additional 61,942 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Prudential PLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 32,616 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.9%

CFG stock opened at $46.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $49.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.70. The firm has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.78.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released 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. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CFG. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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