CW Advisors LLC Invests $673,000 in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• CW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake of 16,238 shares in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. valued at approximately $673,000 during the first quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, which represents a 3.3% annualized yield.
• Citizens Financial Group's share buyback program allows for up to $1.50 billion in repurchases, signaling management's confidence in the stock's value.

CW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,238 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $673,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position 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 buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position 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 buying an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth $45,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $52.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,616,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,712,555. The firm has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $52.53. The business's 50-day moving average is $48.11 and its 200 day moving average is $42.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.