Flputnam Investment Management Co. Makes New $9.46 Million Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired 135,035 shares of Citizens Financial Group worth approximately $9.46 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of the bank’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 16 Buy ratings and four Holds. Citizens has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $79.05, while several firms recently raised targets to $90.
• Citizens exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted earnings of $1.30 per share and revenue of $2.28 billion, up 12.1% year over year. The bank also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, equating to a 2.5% annualized yield.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 135,035 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $9,462,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CFG. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 319.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 424 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.05.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of CFG opened at $74.72 on Monday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.96 and a fifty-two week high of $74.86. The firm has a market cap of $31.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.91%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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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