Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Has $3.01 Million Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 79.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 51,593 shares valued at about $3.01 million.
• Several other hedge funds also adjusted their CFG holdings, and institutional investors now own 94.9% of the bank’s stock. Insider activity included recent share sales by Susan Lamonica and Michelle Moosally.
• Citizens Financial Group reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.13 topping estimates and revenue of $2.17 billion slightly above forecasts. The company also paid a $0.46 quarterly dividend, implying a 2.9% yield.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 79.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,593 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 22,861 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFG. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2,703.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.3%

CFG opened at $64.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.68. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.17 and a 1-year high of $68.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.81.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 43.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CFG shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.88.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc NYSE: CFG is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.

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