MQS Management LLC Invests $470,000 in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,461 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $470,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 35,900,115 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,570,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,838 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,929,591 shares of the bank's stock valued at $477,043,000 after purchasing an additional 124,860 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,570,083 shares of the bank's stock valued at $462,547,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,040 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,683,111 shares of the bank's stock valued at $423,733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,204 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,247,238 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,378,000 after acquiring an additional 374,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $51.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.32.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,823,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,856,889. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The stock has a market cap of $20.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 53.33%.

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.