Oak Thistle LLC Makes New $2.89 Million Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake of 49,485 shares of Citizens Financial Group in Q4, valued at about $2.89 million.
• Analysts are broadly bullish — 20 Buys and 1 Hold — with a consensus price target of $69.14 and several firms recently raising targets (e.g., BofA $78, Jefferies $80).
• Insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares for roughly $769,494 (a 7.4% reduction in her position), while institutional investors own 94.90% of the stock and insiders own 0.67%.

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 49,485 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,890,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,970.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2,703.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Citizens Financial Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $61.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $26.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.48. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.83 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 0.46.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 15.19%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.55%.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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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