Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 85,052 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 85,052 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 270,484 shares worth about $15.8 million.
• Citizens Financial Group beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $1.13 EPS versus $1.10 expected, while revenue rose 12% year over year to $2.17 billion.
• Analysts remain generally upbeat on CFG, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $70.88; the stock also pays a $0.46 quarterly dividend, yielding about 3.0% annually.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 270,484 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 85,052 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.06% of Citizens Financial Group worth $15,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,466 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank's stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $62.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.40 and a twelve month high of $68.79. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $62.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.44. The firm has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 43.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CFG. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group 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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