Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,017 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 498,348 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,017 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Citizens Financial Group worth $20,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 333.3% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,300 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CFG shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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 note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.32.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.63. 3,747,367 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,850,632. The stock has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.28.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.33%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.