Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Purchased by Nordea Investment Management AB

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 20.7%, acquiring nearly 1.1 million additional shares to reach a total of approximately 6.4 million shares valued at $287.9 million.
• Citizens Financial Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.84 and a yield of 3.8% pending shareholder approval.
• Citizens Financial Group reported quarterly earnings of $1.05 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates and achieving an 11.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,399,905 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 1,098,684 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 1.46% of Citizens Financial Group worth $287,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,380,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $425,293,000 after buying an additional 697,494 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,366,754 shares of the bank's stock valued at $294,007,000 after buying an additional 1,180,390 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,801,856 shares of the bank's stock valued at $278,672,000 after buying an additional 554,618 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,730,786 shares of the bank's stock valued at $193,782,000 after buying an additional 41,704 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,703,836 shares of the bank's stock valued at $192,716,000 after buying an additional 86,237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.67.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $48.34 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $51.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $55.24.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 14.17%.Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 29th. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.

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