Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,596 shares and ending with 2.8 million shares valued at about $163.8 million.
• Citizens Financial posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $1.13 versus the $1.10 estimate and revenue of $2.17 billion, up 12% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 19 Buy ratings and one Hold rating, giving the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.88.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,803,641 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,596 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.65% of Citizens Financial Group worth $163,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 10,466 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank's stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 4,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,934,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE CFG opened at $62.98 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.40 and a fifty-two week high of $68.79. 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 (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The company's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.50%.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.88.

About Citizens Financial Group

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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