Maltese Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Maltese Capital Management cut its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 27,116 shares and ending with 95,000 shares worth about $5.55 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding about 94.9% of the company’s stock. Several firms increased their positions, while analysts generally remain constructive on the bank.
• Citizens Financial Group reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share and revenue of $2.17 billion, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, equal to a 2.8% yield.

Maltese Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 22.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 27,116 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $5,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 960 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 74,099 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 42,554 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 75,287 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,398,000 after acquiring an additional 6,319 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.88.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CFG opened at $66.69 on Tuesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.25 and a one year high of $68.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $63.66 and a 200 day moving average of $61.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.68.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.50%.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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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