Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG is Synergy Asset Management LLC's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Synergy Asset Management cut its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 49.1% in Q4, selling 557,623 shares; CFG is now Synergy's 7th-largest holding and the fund owns 0.13% of the company (about $33.8M).
• Citizens beat Q4 EPS estimates ($1.13 vs. $1.11), reported revenue of $2.16B (up 8.6% YoY), and declared a $0.46 quarterly dividend (3.1% yield); analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target of $69.59.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 94.9% with new large stakes from firms like Ninety One UK and Norges Bank, while insider ownership is low (0.67%) and an insider recently sold shares.

Synergy Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 49.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 579,218 shares of the bank's stock after selling 557,623 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group accounts for about 3.5% of Synergy Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Synergy Asset Management LLC owned 0.13% of Citizens Financial Group worth $33,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $308,946,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $253,423,000. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $93,361,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $87,173,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 326.3% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 2,082,961 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594,326 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $58.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $68.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $62.50 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. New Street Research set a $73.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $71.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.59.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Citizens Financial Group

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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