Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.2%, owning 51,303,226 shares (about 11.95%) valued at roughly $2.997 billion, and institutional investors collectively hold 94.90% of the stock.
• Citizens beat expectations for the quarter with EPS $1.13 vs. $1.10 expected and revenue of $2.17 billion (up 12% year-over-year), while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $70.86.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (annualized $1.84) for a yield of ~2.8%, payable May 14 with record/ex-dividend dates on April 30.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,303,226 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 115,722 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.95% of Citizens Financial Group worth $2,996,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the bank's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,107 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. CRA Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the bank's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,784 shares of the bank's stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 7,821 shares of the bank's stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CFG. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.86.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $64.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.74. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.90 and a fifty-two week high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The company's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 43.50%.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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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