Swedbank AB Grows Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Swedbank AB acquired an additional 1,006,999 shares of Citizens Financial Group, raising its ownership to approximately 1.35 million shares and increasing its position by 291.5% during the second quarter.
• Citizens Financial Group reported an EPS of $0.92 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.88, and achieved a revenue of $2.04 billion, which was above the consensus estimate.
• The bank has initiated a $1.50 billion stock buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares, signaling the board's view that the stock may be undervalued.

Swedbank AB raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 291.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,352,458 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 1,006,999 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.31% of Citizens Financial Group worth $60,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position 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 bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $48.50 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, August 1st. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.35.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.56. 9,097,700 shares of the stock 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.80. The business's fifty 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 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.