Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 7,000 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 46.7%, selling 7,000 shares and retaining only 8,000 shares worth approximately $358,000.
• Citizens Financial Group reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.92 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.88, and its revenue increased by 3.8% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a $1.50 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating management’s belief that its stock is currently undervalued.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 46.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 7,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $108,864,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 11,167.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,347,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,577 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,366,754 shares of the bank's stock valued at $294,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,390 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 291.5% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,352,458 shares of the bank's stock valued at $60,522,000 after buying an additional 1,006,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $38,915,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $53.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.79. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.48. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $54.50.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $61.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.70.

About Citizens Financial Group

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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