Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,525,227 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,980 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.81% of Citizens Financial Group worth $144,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salzhauer Michael lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,034.7% in the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 179,301 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,846,000 after purchasing an additional 163,500 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 115.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,072 shares of the bank's stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 5,938 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 11,960 shares of the bank's stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $6,906,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $56,483,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,248,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,782,111. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.24. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $49.25. The firm has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 6.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.32.

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.