Ninety One UK Ltd Grows Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 13.1% to 6,574,714 shares (about 1.53% ownership), buying 763,098 shares in Q4 and valuing its holding at roughly $384 million.
• Q1 beat: Citizens reported EPS of $1.13 (vs. $1.10 est.) and $2.17 billion in revenue—driven by net interest income and fee income—and announced a $0.46 quarterly dividend (≈2.9% yield).
• Analysts have lifted price targets and ratings across the board, leaving the stock with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $70.90 (several firms raised targets into the $70–78 range).

Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,574,714 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 763,098 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 1.53% of Citizens Financial Group worth $384,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,528,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 687,602 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,553,000 after purchasing an additional 140,641 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 135,208 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,923 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 479,415 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,284,000 after purchasing an additional 129,995 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CFG. TD Cowen raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.90.

Key Stories Impacting Citizens Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat: CFG reported EPS $1.13 and revenue $2.17B, with net income up ~39% YoY and strong YoY EPS growth — core drivers were NII and fee income. This is the primary near‑term catalyst for the stock. TMCNet Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Margin expansion & private banking: Analysts and commentary highlight margin expansion and growth in private/wealth channels as sustainable earnings levers, supporting higher earnings estimates. Seeking Alpha Margin Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price target raises: Multiple firms raised targets (RBC to $70/outperform; Keefe Bruyette & Woods to $72/outperform; Truist to $69/hold), signaling ~7–12% upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Benzinga TickerReport The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared: CFG announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (annualized yield ~2.9%) with an ex‑dividend date of Apr 30 — supports income investors and base valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call & deep dive coverage: Transcripts and analyst deep dives (earnings slide deck and call transcripts) provide more detail on capital deployment, credit trends and guidance; useful for modeling forward EPS. Earnings Call Transcript Yahoo Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Rising expenses & uncertainty: Some coverage flagged higher operating expenses and geopolitical/market uncertainty, which trimmed pre‑market gains despite the beat and could pressure near‑term margins if the trend continues. Zacks on Expenses

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $64.42 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.95 and a 12-month high of $68.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.55%.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc NYSE: CFG is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.

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