Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Sold by Caxton Associates LLP

Key Points

• Caxton Associates cut its Citizens Financial Group position by 98.3% in the first quarter, selling 205,463 shares and retaining 3,537 shares worth approximately $212,000. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 17 Buy ratings and three Holds, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $79.05.
• Citizens Financial Group exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.30 in EPS and $2.28 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% yield.

Caxton Associates LLP lowered its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 98.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,537 shares of the bank's stock after selling 205,463 shares during the quarter. Caxton Associates LLP's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Argus set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 2.1%

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $71.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.90 and a fifty-two week high of $74.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.29.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Citizens Financial Group 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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