GAM Holding AG Buys Shares of 31,261 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

GAM Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 31,261 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,281,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CFG. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research 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. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $48.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.89.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.5%

CFG stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.14. The company had a trading volume of 3,008,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,809,265. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.60 and a 52 week high of $49.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.59 and a 200 day moving average of $42.12. The company has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.75.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 53.33%.

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.