Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $118.03 Million Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 30.2%, acquiring an additional 667,381 shares for a total value of approximately $118 million.
• Citizens Financial Group reported $0.92 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.88 and achieving a 3.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a $0.42 quarterly dividend, with an annualized yield of 3.2%, and authorized a share buyback program worth $1.5 billion.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 30.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,880,871 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 667,381 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.66% of Citizens Financial Group worth $118,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in 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 period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $51.78 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $49.19 and its 200 day moving average is $43.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $52.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

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 $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CFG. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of 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. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.00.

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.

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