Korea Investment CORP Acquires 213,300 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its ownership in Citizens Financial Group by 261.4% during Q1, acquiring an additional 213,300 shares, bringing its total stake to approximately 0.07%.
• Citizens Financial Group reported a quarterly EPS of $0.92, exceeding estimates, and the company has initiated a $1.50 billion share repurchase plan, signaling management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Citizens Financial Group, with target prices increasing to an average of $51.53, reflecting positive outlooks from multiple research firms.

Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 261.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 294,899 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 213,300 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.07% of Citizens Financial Group worth $12,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CFG traded up $0.65 on Wednesday, reaching $51.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,991,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,936,154. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $47.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.88. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $52.03.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.53.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.