Patton Fund Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management cut its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 93.6% in Q4, selling 58,874 shares and leaving just 4,057 shares worth about $237,000.
• Insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares on March 11 at an average of $58.04, reducing her holding by 7.4%, while corporate insiders own just 0.67% and institutions/hedge funds own 94.90% of CFG.
• Analysts give CFG a consensus "Moderate Buy" (20 Buys, 1 Hold) with an average target of $69.14; the stock recently traded around $64.86 and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (≈ 2.8% yield).

Patton Fund Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 93.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,057 shares of the bank's stock after selling 58,874 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFG. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2,703.0% in the second quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,569.2% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 954 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $9,632,956.84. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays set a $77.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.14.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $64.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.88. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.95 and a 1-year high of $68.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $27.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 47.55%.

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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