Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Stock: Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Grows Holdings

Key Points

• Nisa Investment Advisors increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 649% in the third quarter, adding 921,782 shares to own 1.06 million shares valued at approximately $67.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $77.47, despite some recent target reductions.
• Citizens Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, slightly above estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 per share, implying a 3.2% annualized yield. CEO Bruce Van Saun separately sold 129,369 shares.

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 649.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,063,823 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 921,782 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.25% of Citizens Financial Group worth $67,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 55 North Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the bank's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 56,309 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,946,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Trustmark Bank Trust Department boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 4,278 shares of the bank's stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 883 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 64,323 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,757,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CFG shares. Stephens decreased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Argus set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 2.4%

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $64.25 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. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.00 and a 1-year high of $75.33. The company has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.72. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $67.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.16.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. 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. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.85%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.