IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,788 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 11,521 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $4,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 37.9% in the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the bank's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 101,134 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,143,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 609,645 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,977,000 after acquiring an additional 190,569 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.68.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $47.08. 4,801,408 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,836,352. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.