Legal & General Group Plc Takes $207.23 Million Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 2,957,527 shares of Citizens Financial Group, valued at approximately $207.2 million, giving it a 0.70% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.90% of CFG.
• Citizens Financial Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.30 EPS and $2.28 billion in revenue, with revenue up 12.1% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.46, equivalent to a 2.6% yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 16 Buy ratings and four Holds, a “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $79.25. Meanwhile, CEO Saun Van sold 129,369 shares for about $9.3 million.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,957,527 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $207,234,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.70% of Citizens Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the bank's stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the bank's stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 19,694 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,270 shares of the bank's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 7,719 shares of the bank's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE CFG opened at $70.48 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $71.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.65. The stock has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.96 and a fifty-two week high of $75.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on CFG shares. Barclays raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.25.

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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