Paragon Capital Management Inc. Invests $1.62 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Paragon Capital Management bought 27,661 shares of Citizens Financial Group in Q4—about $1.62 million—making CFG 1.2% of Paragon’s portfolio and its 26th-largest holding; overall institutional ownership of CFG is roughly 94.9%.
• Analysts are broadly positive with 20 Buys and 1 Hold, a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target of $69.14, while CFG recently beat EPS estimates ($1.13 vs. $1.11) and pays a $0.46 quarterly dividend (≈2.9% yield).

Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 27,661 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,616,000. Citizens Financial Group comprises 1.2% of Paragon Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $308,946,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $87,173,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 326.3% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 2,082,961 shares of the bank's stock worth $110,730,000 after buying an additional 1,594,326 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $60,434,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $40,511,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CFG shares. New Street Research set a $73.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. 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, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.14.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

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 value of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $64.20 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $61.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.72. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.73 and a 52-week high of $68.79. The firm has a market cap of $27.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 15.19%.The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.55%.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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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