Vident Advisory LLC Buys 26,197 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 137.2%, owning 45,289 shares valued at approximately $1.86 million following additional purchases.
• The bank reported earnings of $0.92 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.88, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.8%.
• Citizens Financial Group's Board announced a $1.50 billion share buyback plan, signaling confidence in the bank's stock value.

Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 137.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,289 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 26,197 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CFG. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7.2% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,380,605 shares of the bank's stock worth $425,293,000 after purchasing an additional 697,494 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,247,238 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,378,000 after purchasing an additional 374,850 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,730,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $193,782,000 after purchasing an additional 41,704 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,703,836 shares of the bank's stock worth $192,716,000 after purchasing an additional 86,237 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,378,632 shares of the bank's stock worth $147,849,000 after purchasing an additional 233,997 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock traded down $0.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.71. 2,996,647 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,723,481. 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's fifty day moving average is $48.62 and its 200 day moving average is $43.11. The firm has a market cap of $22.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $52.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.