GW&K Investment Management LLC Acquires 125,905 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management boosted its Citizens Financial Group stake by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 125,905 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,067,077 shares worth about $62.3 million.
• Citizens Financial Group beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.13 versus the $1.10 estimate and revenue of $2.17 billion, with revenue up 12% year over year.
• The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, equal to a 2.8% annualized yield, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $70.88.

GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,067,077 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 125,905 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Citizens Financial Group worth $62,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 68,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,972,000 after purchasing an additional 11,556 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 32,411 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 26,624 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 10,798 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $405,000. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 7,816 shares of the bank's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,267 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 2.0%

CFG stock opened at $65.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.17 and a 52-week high of $68.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CFG shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.88.

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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