Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Bought by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its Citizens Financial Group stake by 34.3% in the first quarter, adding 169,726 shares and bringing its holdings to 664,705 shares valued at about $39.9 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on CFG, with firms including Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Citigroup raising price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $78.55.
• Citizens Financial reported better-than-expected Q2 results, posting $1.30 EPS versus the $1.25 estimate and revenue of $2.28 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 34.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 664,705 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 169,726 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.16% of Citizens Financial Group worth $39,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,466 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CFG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $71.80 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.05. The stock has a market cap of $30.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $45.90 and a one year high of $74.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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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