Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Has $6.05 Million Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 9.2%, acquiring an additional 12,476 shares and now owns a total of 147,726 shares valued at approximately $6.05 million.
• Citizens Financial Group's stock has received multiple analyst upgrades, with UBS raising its price target from $50 to $53 and other analysts assigning it buy ratings with targets as high as $57.
• The company's Board of Directors has initiated a$1.50 billion stock buyback plan, which allows for the repurchase of up to 8.5% of its shares, indicative of the board's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,726 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 12,476 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $6,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,380,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $425,293,000 after purchasing an additional 697,494 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,247,238 shares of the bank's stock valued at $273,378,000 after acquiring an additional 374,850 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,186,364 shares of the bank's stock valued at $270,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,536 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,730,786 shares of the bank's stock valued at $193,782,000 after acquiring an additional 41,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,703,836 shares of the bank's stock valued at $192,716,000 after acquiring an additional 86,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CFG. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:CFG traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,616,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,871,637. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $47.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.93. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $52.53.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.