Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 190,569 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 45.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 609,645 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 190,569 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.14% of Citizens Financial Group worth $24,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth $398,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 21,138 shares during the last quarter. GAM Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,281,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth $523,000. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $2,196,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG traded up $0.69 on Friday, reaching $47.72. 3,302,892 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,836,498. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.14. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The firm has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 53.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CFG shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.68.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.