Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $193.78 Million Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group, now owning 4,730,786 shares valued at approximately $193.78 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Citizens Financial Group, with a consensus target price of $51.53 and a current rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The board of Citizens Financial Group has initiated a $1.50 billion stock repurchase program, indicating confidence in the bank's stock valuation.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,730,786 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 41,704 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.08% of Citizens Financial Group worth $193,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,766 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the bank's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 53,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 32,767 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 17,386 shares of the bank's stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CFG traded up $2.2750 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.7350. The stock had a trading volume of 5,326,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,873,187. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $50.79. The stock has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $46.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.78. 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 (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CFG. Citigroup increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays increased their target price 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. TD Cowen began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.