Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Holdings Increased by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 58,724.5% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 182,356 shares worth approximately $11.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.9% of CFG shares.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $77.47, despite several firms recently lowering their targets.
• Citizens Financial Group beat quarterly earnings expectations with $1.41 in EPS versus $1.39 forecast and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52, equivalent to a 3.2% annualized yield.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 58,724.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,356 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 182,046 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $11,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $784,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 6,919.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 205,888 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,127,000 after acquiring an additional 202,955 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 2,671.0% in the third quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 5,542 shares of the bank's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 5,342 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,149.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 206,016 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,136,000 after buying an additional 199,676 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 40,195 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 21,402 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $72.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $89.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.47.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CFG stock opened at $65.19 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.00 and a fifty-two week high of $75.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.20.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 18.07%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 41.85%.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.