Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Acquired by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP

Key Points

• ExodusPoint Capital Management boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 79.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 429,677 shares valued at about $25.1 million. Institutional investors still own the vast majority of the stock, with 94.9% held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: analysts have given CFG a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $70.88 average price target. Recent notes included higher targets from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and JPMorgan, while Citigroup reiterated a buy rating.
• Citizens Financial Group reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.13 beating estimates and revenue of $2.17 billion topping forecasts. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, equal to a 2.7% annualized yield.

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 79.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 429,677 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 190,122 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned 0.10% of Citizens Financial Group worth $25,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the bank's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the bank's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the bank's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 19,694 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,107 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.88.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.9%

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $67.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $63.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.57. The company has a market cap of $28.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.68. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.25 and a fifty-two week high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

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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