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

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 333.3% during the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,300 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $48.00 price target (down from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.68.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.41. The company had a trading volume of 613,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,731,685. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $41.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $20.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 6.84%. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 53.33%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership 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.