Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC has significantly reduced its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 73.6%, resulting in ownership of only 6,384 shares after selling 17,843 shares in the second quarter.
• Citizens Financial Group reported earnings of $0.92 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.88, and its quarterly revenue increased 3.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, with a current dividend yield of 3.4%, indicating a payout ratio of 51.06%.

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 73.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,384 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,843 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CFG. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $49.25 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.06 and a 200 day moving average of $44.84. 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 $21.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.86.

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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