Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 61,726 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 154.1%, acquiring an additional 61,726 shares and bringing its total to 101,792 shares, valued at approximately $4,170,000.
• Citizens Financial Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.68 and a yield of 3.5%.
• Following recent performance, analysts have a consensus target price of $51.53 for the stock, reflecting a generally positive outlook with four hold ratings and fourteen buy ratings from various research analysts.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 154.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,792 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 61,726 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $4,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position 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 buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $48.31 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $46.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.72. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $49.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy 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 shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on CFG shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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