Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, holding 11.36 million shares worth about $661 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 94.9% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on CFG, with 19 Buy ratings and just one Hold. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy, and the average price target is $70.88.
• The bank reported solid quarterly results, earning $1.13 per share versus the $1.10 estimate and posting 12% revenue growth year over year. Citizens also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, implying a 3.0% yield.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,361,142 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 32,264 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.65% of Citizens Financial Group worth $661,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $7,528,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 25.7% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 687,602 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,553,000 after acquiring an additional 140,641 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 33.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 135,208 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,923 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 504,595 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,968,000 after acquiring an additional 25,180 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,412,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CFG shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.88.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CFG opened at $62.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $62.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.44. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.40 and a 52-week high of $68.79. The company has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.50%.

Citizens Financial Group 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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