Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Purchased by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Key Points

• Sowell Financial Services increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 2,887.7% in the third quarter, ending with 178,604 shares valued at approximately $11.4 million. Several other institutional investors also significantly expanded their positions, and institutions collectively own 94.9% of CFG.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with CFG receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $77.28, despite some firms lowering their targets.
• Citizens Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, slightly exceeding estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.52 per share, equivalent to a 3.2% annualized yield.

Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 2,887.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 178,604 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 172,626 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $11,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,085.6% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 463,155 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,531,000 after acquiring an additional 448,616 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $198,000. Canton Hathaway LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 637.5% in the 3rd quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 5,384 shares of the bank's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,654 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2,516.0% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 31,497 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 30,293 shares during the period. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5,653.7% in the third quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 12,543 shares of the bank's stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 12,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, October 16th. DA Davidson set a $82.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, October 19th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.28.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $65.25 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.49. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.00 and a twelve month high of $75.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $27.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.

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