National Bank of Canada FI Buys 162,669 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its shares in Citizens Financial Group by 59.5% during the first quarter, owning 436,042 shares worth approximately $17.86 million.
• Citizens Financial Group reported Q2 earnings of $0.92 per share, surpassing expectations of $0.88, with revenue of $2.04 billion—up 3.8% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $1.50 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating that the board believes the stock is undervalued.

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 59.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 436,042 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 162,669 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.10% of Citizens Financial Group worth $17,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Salzhauer Michael boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,034.7% during the fourth quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 179,301 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,846,000 after purchasing an additional 163,500 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 594,583 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,019,000 after purchasing an additional 8,942 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,660,164 shares of the bank's stock worth $72,649,000 after acquiring an additional 109,335 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 123,002 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,382,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,961,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,489,217. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $46.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.75. 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 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $49.98. The stock has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.78.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.