Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Stock Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 4,748.6% in the third quarter, acquiring 141,602 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 144,584 shares valued at approximately $9.2 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 94.9%, with BlackRock, Bank of America, Legal & General, Nykredit and Bank of New York Mellon among investors that recently established or expanded positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $79.38, compared with the stock’s recent opening price of $63.36.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 4,748.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,584 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 141,602 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $9,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,415,046,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth $223,386,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth $207,234,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth $188,380,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth $175,948,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $72.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.38.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of CFG opened at $63.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.96 and a 52 week high of $75.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $68.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.00.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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 individuals, families, businesses and institutions through branches, digital channels and other delivery platforms.

The company's consumer banking activities include checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lending, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Through its commercial banking operations, Citizens provides business loans, commercial real estate financing, treasury management, capital markets services and other solutions for companies and institutional clients.

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