Federated Hermes Inc. Has $27.19 Million Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. has reduced its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during Q1, now owning approximately 663,651 shares valued at $27.19 million.
• Citizens Financial Group announced a $1.50 billion stock repurchase plan, allowing the bank to buy back up to 8.5% of its outstanding shares, signaling a belief in the stock's undervaluation.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 3.5% yield, with the payout scheduled for August 14th to shareholders on record as of July 31st.

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 663,651 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,945 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Citizens Financial Group worth $27,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in 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 last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% in 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 last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CFG traded down $0.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.79. 5,798,990 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,412,584. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.78. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $49.98. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $44.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CFG. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus set a $45.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.