Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 147,104 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. invested approximately $6.03 million in Citizens Financial Group, acquiring 147,104 shares in the first quarter.
• Citizens Financial Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.92, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $2.04 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 3.8%.
• The company authorized a share repurchase plan of $1.50 billion, allowing it to buy back up to 8.5% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 147,104 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $6,027,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,961,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,489,217. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $46.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.75. The company has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.78.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research 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 MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.53.

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.