Czech National Bank Boosts Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Czech National Bank increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5.6% during the second quarter, holding 105,999 shares valued at approximately $4.74 million.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings of $0.92 per share, exceeding expectations, with a 3.8% year-over-year revenue growth totaling $2.04 billion.
• Citizens Financial Group has approved a share repurchase plan worth $1.50 billion, indicating that the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,999 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 5,596 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $4,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,766 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 53,879 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 32,767 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.35.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

Citizens Financial Group stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.56. 9,097,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,795,203. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $53.78. The company has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $49.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.62.

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

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

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.