Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Stake Increased by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 9.5% in the third quarter, adding 117,183 shares to reach 1.35 million shares valued at about $78.8 million.
• Analysts gave CFG a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $76.79; 17 analysts rated it Buy and four rated it Hold.
• Citizens reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, slightly above estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 per share from $0.46.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,353,041 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 117,183 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group comprises 0.8% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned 0.32% of Citizens Financial Group worth $78,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1,344.9% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,283,586 shares of the bank's stock valued at $81,841,000 after buying an additional 1,194,749 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 200.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 122,059 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,782,000 after buying an additional 81,494 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,898,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 36.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,048,162 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,768,000 after buying an additional 280,802 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $89.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $81.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.79.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $65.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $27.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.74. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.00 and a 12 month high of $75.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.65.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 18.07%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.85%.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Through Citizens Bank and related businesses, it provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, wealth management, and commercial lending and cash-management services. The company also provides capital markets and other financial services to corporate clients.

Citizens traces its history to High Street Bank, founded in Providence in 1828.

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