OLD National Bancorp IN Grows Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 375.1% in Q4, adding 130,397 shares to hold 165,156 shares worth about $9.65 million.
• Citizens beat estimates with Q earnings of $1.13 EPS (vs. $1.10 est.) and revenue of $2.17B, up 12% year-over-year, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (annualized $1.84) with an ex-dividend date of April 30 and pay date May 14.
• Analysts have a consensus of Moderate Buy (19 Buys, 1 Hold) with an average price target of $70.86, and institutional investors own roughly 94.9% of the stock.

OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 375.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,156 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 130,397 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $9,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CFG. Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,802 shares of the bank's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,917 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the bank's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,660 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $532,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.2%

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $65.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.90 and a fifty-two week high of $68.79. The stock's fifty day moving average is $61.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.34.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CFG shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird raised Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays set a $77.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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