Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Buys 16,670 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 64.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,367 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 16,670 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 41,112 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 10,833 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,704 shares of the bank's stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,015,624 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,833 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 46,019 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,284 shares of the bank's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.27. The stock had a trading volume of 4,457,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,815,791. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.60 and a 52 week high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $38.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.49. The company has a market capitalization of $17.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.75.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. On average, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 53.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.89.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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.