Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 6,767 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 16.2%, owning 35,001 shares valued at $1.43 million after selling 6,767 shares.
• Citizens Financial Group's board has approved a $1.50 billion share repurchase plan, allowing the bank to buy back up to 8.5% of its stock, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The bank reported a quarterly EPS of $0.92, exceeding estimates, along with a 3.8% revenue increase year-over-year, with current analysts forecasting an EPS of 3.92 for the fiscal year.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 16.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,001 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,767 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,766 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the bank's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 53,879 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 32,767 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 17,386 shares of the bank's stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.8%

CFG traded down $0.90 on Friday, hitting $48.31. The company had a trading volume of 2,961,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,489,217. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $49.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on CFG shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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.