Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $1.39 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Pallas Capital Advisors bought 19,855 shares of Citizens Financial Group worth approximately $1.39 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors own 94.9% of the bank’s outstanding stock.
• Citizens Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, beating estimates by $0.05, while revenue rose 12.1% year over year to $2.28 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, yielding about 2.5% annually.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 16 Buy ratings and four Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $79.05 versus the reported share price of $73.45.

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,855 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,391,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth $174,108,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $568,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,548,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $72,917,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of CFG opened at $73.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.96 and a 52 week high of $75.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.92 and a 200-day moving average of $65.43.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.91%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. 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. Stephens boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.05.

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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