Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Position Increased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services sharply increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 4,682.2% in the third quarter, ending with 3.29 million shares valued at about $209.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.9% of the stock.
• Analysts rate CFG a “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $76.79; the stock recently opened at $63.79. The bank’s latest quarterly EPS of $1.41 topped estimates, though revenue was slightly below consensus.
• Citizens raised its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.52 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.08 and a 3.3% yield.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 4,682.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,285,906 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 3,217,195 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.78% of Citizens Financial Group worth $209,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CFG. 55 North Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the bank's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 56,309 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,946,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the bank's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Trustmark Bank Trust Department increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 4,278 shares of the bank's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 29.9% during the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 883 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Evercore set a $74.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.79.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 3.2%

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $63.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.00 and a twelve month high of $75.33. The company's 50-day moving average price is $66.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.63.

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

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 41.85%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.

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