Cresset Asset Management LLC Purchases 5,984 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 46.4%, owning 18,892 shares valued at approximately $774,000.
• Citizens Financial Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%, with a payout ratio of about 51.06%.
• Recent analyst upgrades have increased the target price for Citizens Financial Group, with Citigroup raising it from $57.00 to $60.00 and several other firms issuing "buy" ratings.

Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 46.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,892 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 5,984 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 774 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing 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. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE CFG traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $51.83. 1,576,415 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,761,317. The company's 50-day moving average is $47.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.82. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $52.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.78.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.53.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.