National Pension Service Lowers Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service significantly reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 87.8%, now holding 95,547 shares valued at approximately $3.9 million.
• Citizens Financial Group reported a Q2 EPS of $0.92, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.88, and recorded a revenue of $2.04 billion.
• The bank has launched a share buyback program allowing for the repurchase of up to $1.5 billion in outstanding shares, indicating management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

National Pension Service cut its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 87.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,547 shares of the bank's stock after selling 686,672 shares during the period. National Pension Service's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 123,002 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,382,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,541 shares of the bank's stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,257 shares of the bank's stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 128.5% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 674,200 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,503,000 after acquiring an additional 379,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 575,406 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,175,000 after purchasing an additional 264,675 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $48.31 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.60 and a 52 week high of $49.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.09 and a 200-day moving average of $42.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given 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 of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.

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