Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 5,947 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 65.4%, owning 3,141 shares worth $129,000 after selling 5,947 shares in the first quarter.
• The company announced a $1.50 billion share buyback program, signifying the board's belief that its shares are undervalued.
• Citizens Financial Group reported $0.92 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.88, alongside a revenue increase of 3.8% compared to the previous year.

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 65.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,141 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,947 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE CFG traded down $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.69. The company had a trading volume of 784,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,813,655. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $49.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company's fifty day moving average price is $45.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.75. The stock has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.