Fielder Capital Group LLC Purchases Shares of 5,310 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Fielder Capital Group LLC acquired 5,310 shares of Citizens Financial Group, valued at approximately $218,000, marking a new investment in the bank's stock during the first quarter.
• Citizens Financial Group's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.92, exceeding analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.8%.
• The company has announced a $1.50 billion share buyback plan, allowing it to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

Fielder Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,310 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $243,431,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $108,864,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,570,083 shares of the bank's stock valued at $462,547,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,040 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,683,111 shares of the bank's stock valued at $423,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,204 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,186,364 shares of the bank's stock valued at $270,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,536 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $49.48 on Monday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $49.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.81 and a 200-day moving average of $42.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $21.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.76.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CFG. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.05.

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.

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