Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 21,700 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 22.8%, selling 21,700 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 73,484 shares valued at approximately $3 million.
• Citizens Financial Group recently reported a $0.92 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations of $0.88, with a 3.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.04 billion.
• The bank's Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan allowing for the repurchase of up to $1.50 billion in outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the stock's undervaluation.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 22.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,484 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,700 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Mariner LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 123,002 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,382,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,541 shares of the bank's stock valued at $855,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,257 shares of the bank's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 128.5% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 674,200 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,503,000 after purchasing an additional 379,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 575,406 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,175,000 after purchasing an additional 264,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $48.31 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $49.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business's 50 day moving average price is $46.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.72. The firm has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase 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 was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 51.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CFG. Citigroup lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Cowen began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.

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