Milford Funds Ltd. Purchases New Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Milford Funds Ltd. disclosed a new position in Citizens Financial Group, buying 235,000 shares worth about $13.7 million in the fourth quarter and ending with 0.05% ownership.
• Citizens Financial Group reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $1.13 EPS versus $1.10 expected, while revenue of $2.17 billion also edged estimates and rose 12% year over year.
• The stock has drawn mostly bullish analyst sentiment, with 19 Buy ratings, a consensus “Moderate Buy,” and an average price target of $70.88; it also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.46, or a 2.7% yield.

Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 235,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $13,726,000. Milford Funds Ltd. owned 0.05% of Citizens Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CFG. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the bank's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the bank's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the bank's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,107 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $67.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.33. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.17 and a 1-year high of $68.79. The company has a market cap of $28.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.68.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CFG shares. Robert W. Baird raised Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.88.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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