Convergence Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 33,616 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,377,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth $398,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 21,138 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth $410,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 37.9% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the bank's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG traded up $0.20 on Friday, reaching $49.48. The company had a trading volume of 5,219,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,947,175. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.60. The company has a market cap of $21.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $49.98.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. Barclays raised their target price 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. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.05.

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.