Intech Investment Management LLC Has $2.80 Million Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 33.3%, selling 34,133 shares, leaving them with 68,312 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million.
• Citizens Financial Group reported earnings per share of $0.92 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.88, with revenue increasing 3.8% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $1.5 billion share buyback plan, allowing for the repurchase of up to 8.5% of its stock, indicating management believes the shares are undervalued.

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 33.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,312 shares of the bank's stock after selling 34,133 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CFG. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:CFG traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $53.56. 9,097,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,795,203. The company's 50 day moving average is $49.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.62. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $53.78. 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 market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CFG. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.35.

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.