Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Buys 9,440 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 160.0% in the first quarter, holding 15,339 shares valued at approximately $628,000.
• Several analysts have upgraded Citizens Financial Group's ratings, with price targets now ranging from $52.00 to $57.00, indicating a general trend toward positive outlook for the stock.
• The bank recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share and initiated a share repurchase program allowing it to buy back up to 8.5% of its outstanding shares, reflecting management's confidence in the stock's value.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 160.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,339 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 9,440 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 8.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,801,856 shares of the bank's stock worth $278,672,000 after acquiring an additional 554,618 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $313,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $132,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $38,915,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 221,042 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,056,000 after acquiring an additional 4,346 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.5%

CFG stock traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,996,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,390,459. The company has a market cap of $22.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50 day moving average price is $48.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $52.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price objective on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.