Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Makes New $13.93 Million Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC invested approximately $13.93 million in Citizens Financial Group by acquiring 340,000 shares, representing roughly 0.08% of the bank's stock.
3.6% and a payout ratio of 51.06%.
• Several brokerages have recently issued ratings and adjusted price targets for Citizens Financial Group, with Royal Bank Of Canada reducing its target to $44.00 while others, like TD Cowen, set a target as high as $57.00, indicating a mix of optimism and caution among analysts.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 340,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $13,930,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC owned about 0.08% of Citizens Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Salzhauer Michael grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1,034.7% in the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 179,301 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,846,000 after purchasing an additional 163,500 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 594,583 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,019,000 after acquiring an additional 8,942 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 131,630 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,759,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,660,164 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,649,000 after acquiring an additional 109,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 123,002 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,382,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE CFG traded down $0.34 during trading on Monday, reaching $46.94. 3,410,798 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,275,777. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $49.98. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $45.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.66. The firm has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.