Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 10.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 166,373 shares of the bank's stock after selling 18,889 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $6,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CFG. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,766 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the bank's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 53,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 32,767 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $51.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $48.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.09. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $52.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CFG shares. Cowen started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.53.

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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