New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 5,546 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System has reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.5%, selling 5,546 shares and holding 367,438 shares worth approximately $16.4 million at the end of the most recent quarter.
• Citizens Financial Group reported an earnings per share of $1.05, exceeding analysts' estimates, and its revenue increased by 11.4% year-over-year to $2.12 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.42 to $0.46, with a dividend yield of 3.7%, and plans to pay this to shareholders of record on October 29th.

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 367,438 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,546 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Citizens Financial Group worth $16,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $398,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 21,138 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $410,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 37.9% in the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the bank's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $49.26 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $51.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.14. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $55.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 14.17%.The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 29th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.57.

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.

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