Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 74,609 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.1%, selling 74,609 shares, and now holds approximately 1.59% of the company's total shares valued at $284.2 million.
• The bank recently reported earnings of $0.92 per share, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, representing a 3.8% year-on-year increase.
• Citizens Financial Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, reflecting a 3.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 51.06%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,936,496 shares of the bank's stock after selling 74,609 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.59% of Citizens Financial Group worth $284,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,037,000. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,228,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Factorial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 80,900 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,314,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $48.09. 1,280,768 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,829,126. The company has a market cap of $20.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.78. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $45.60 and its 200 day moving average is $42.70.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.06%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI raised Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.53.

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.