Donoghue Forlines LLC Sells 45,186 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Donoghue Forlines LLC cut its Citizens Financial Group stake by 64% in the fourth quarter, selling 45,186 shares and leaving it with 25,451 shares worth about $1.49 million.
• Insiders also sold shares: Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares and Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares, while insiders collectively own just 0.67% of the stock.
• Citizens Financial Group reported solid results, beating quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and it recently paid a $0.46 quarterly dividend, equal to a 3.0% annualized yield.

Donoghue Forlines LLC trimmed its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 64.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,451 shares of the bank's stock after selling 45,186 shares during the quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth $87,173,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 326.3% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 2,082,961 shares of the bank's stock worth $110,730,000 after buying an additional 1,594,326 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 160.4% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,448,050 shares of the bank's stock worth $142,991,000 after buying an additional 1,508,070 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 411.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,729,587 shares of the bank's stock worth $101,025,000 after buying an additional 1,391,483 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,574,714 shares of the bank's stock worth $384,029,000 after buying an additional 763,098 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.88.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $61.13 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $61.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.64. The company has a market cap of $25.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.80 and a 12-month high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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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