Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its Citizens Financial Group stake by 50.1% in the first quarter, selling 21,478 shares and retaining 21,352 shares worth approximately $1.28 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 17 Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $79.05.
• Citizens Financial Group exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.30 in EPS on $2.28 billion in revenue, while declaring a $0.46 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.5% annual yield.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 50.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,352 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,478 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CFG. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,466 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CFG. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus set a $80.00 price objective on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE CFG opened at $72.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.67. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $46.63 and a one year high of $74.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.89.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. Citizens Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 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, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 39.91%.

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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