Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 35.8% in the first quarter, adding 14,858 shares to bring its total to 56,368 shares worth about $3.38 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with several analysts lifting price targets; the stock now carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.35.
• Citizens Financial reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.13 versus the $1.10 estimate and revenue of $2.17 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 35.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,368 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 14,858 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 504,595 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,968,000 after buying an additional 25,180 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,412,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 991,510 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,914,000 after acquiring an additional 94,774 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 270,484 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,799,000 after acquiring an additional 85,052 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.28. The company had a trading volume of 223,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,902,719. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.67. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.90 and a twelve month high of $72.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.50%.

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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