Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Purchased by Old Port Advisors

Key Points

• Old Port Advisors increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 19.9%, owning 39,292 shares valued at approximately $1.76 million after acquiring an additional 6,525 shares.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for Citizens Financial Group, with price targets rising significantly, including a new target of $61.00 from Cantor Fitzgerald.
• The company recently announced a $1.50 billion share buyback plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42, reflecting confidence in its stock value and financial health.

Old Port Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,292 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 6,525 shares during the quarter. Old Port Advisors' holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CFG. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 11.7% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 6,642 shares of the bank's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth $216,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 280,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,544,000 after purchasing an additional 7,259 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7.6% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 28,851 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares during the period. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $417,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.35.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.0%

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $53.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50-day moving average is $50.28 and its 200-day moving average is $44.02. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $53.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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