Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 7.2%, now holding over 10.3 million shares worth approximately $425 million.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Citizens Financial Group, with averages now ranging from $50.00 to $57.00, and the stock has an overall rating of Moderate Buy.
• Citizens Financial Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.5%, and announced a $1.5 billion stock repurchase program.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,380,605 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 697,494 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group makes up 1.7% of Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned about 2.37% of Citizens Financial Group worth $425,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CFG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $108,864,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,507,536 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 11,167.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,347,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,209,000 after buying an additional 1,335,577 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,486,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,790,291 shares of the bank's stock valued at $114,318,000 after buying an additional 916,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of CFG opened at $48.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $49.98. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $46.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.68. 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 (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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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