Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC Takes $5.89 Million Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Infrastructure Capital Advisors acquired 84,054 Citizens Financial Group shares worth approximately $5.89 million, while institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 16 Buy ratings and four Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $79.25.
• Citizens Financial Group exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.30 in EPS and $2.28 billion in revenue, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.46, equivalent to a 2.6% annual yield.

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 84,054 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $5,890,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter worth $3,415,046,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank's stock valued at $661,052,000 after acquiring an additional 32,264 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank's stock valued at $655,242,000 after acquiring an additional 298,779 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank's stock worth $467,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953,372 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank's stock valued at $451,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG opened at $69.84 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.96 and a 1-year high of $75.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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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