Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Stake Lifted by New York Life Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• New York Life Investment Management increased its CFG stake by 1,253% in the third quarter, ending with 855,803 shares valued at about $54.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of the bank’s stock.
• Citizens reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, beating estimates of $1.39, while revenue of $2.32 billion fell short of expectations. The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.52 per share, equivalent to a 3.2% yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $76.79; shares opened at $64.91 in the trading session cited.

New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 1,253.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 855,803 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 792,550 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC owned 0.20% of Citizens Financial Group worth $54,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CFG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,415,046,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 7,979.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 12,165,352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $775,663,000 after acquiring an additional 12,014,785 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1,252.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,204,563 shares of the bank's stock valued at $586,883,000 after acquiring an additional 8,523,938 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,719,160 shares of the bank's stock valued at $282,927,000 after acquiring an additional 28,602 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,685,819 shares of the bank's stock valued at $258,265,000 after acquiring an additional 875,666 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:CFG opened at $64.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.74. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $49.00 and a one year high of $75.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.65.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 18.07%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CFG. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.79.

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.

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