Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Stock: Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Raises Stake

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 1,000.5% in the third quarter, ending with 61,451 shares valued at about $3.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively owned 94.9% of CFG shares.
• Analyst sentiment was positive overall: 17 analysts rated CFG a Buy and four a Hold, for a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $76.79.
• Citizens reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, topping estimates, while revenue of $2.32 billion fell short of expectations. It also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.52 per share.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 1,000.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,451 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 55,867 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3,724.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 139,672 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,905,000 after acquiring an additional 136,020 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $612,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $102,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 42.4% in the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 24,103 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 7,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 163,230.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,333 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 16,323 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $89.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. DA Davidson set a $82.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Evercore set a $74.00 price objective on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.79.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.2%

CFG opened at $63.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.00 and a fifty-two week high of $75.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50-day moving average is $65.87 and its 200 day moving average is $65.64.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. The business 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 3.3%. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is currently 41.85%.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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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