Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Stock Bought by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 553.4% in the third quarter, owning 215,861 shares valued at approximately $13.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with CFG carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $77.47, despite some recent target-price reductions.
• Citizens Financial Group exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.41 versus the $1.39 consensus, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 per share, equivalent to a 3.2% annual yield.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 553.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,861 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 182,823 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Citizens Financial Group worth $13,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $78,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 12,035.3% during the third quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,441 shares of the bank's stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 14,322 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2,298.8% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89,308 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,694,000 after acquiring an additional 85,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,308.5% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 4,840 shares of the bank's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,698 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.47.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $65.19 on Monday. 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 50 day moving average price of $67.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.24. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.00 and a 52 week high of $75.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

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