Peoples Financial Services CORP. Purchases 35,867 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Peoples Financial Services acquired 35,867 Citizens Financial Group shares worth approximately $2.3 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.97, compared with CFG’s trading price of $64.13.
• Citizens Financial Group raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $2.08 and a 3.2% yield. The bank also reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, slightly above analyst expectations.

Peoples Financial Services CORP. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 35,867 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,287,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CFG. Ballast Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,329.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 65,746 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 61,146 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1,410.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 890,438 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,774,000 after purchasing an additional 831,484 shares during the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,478,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 635.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 126,155 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,044,000 after purchasing an additional 109,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 33,256 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $89.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.97.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 2.2%

CFG traded up $1.37 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.13. 2,136,739 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,622,415. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.00 and a fifty-two week high of $75.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. The company's fifty day moving average price is $67.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.13.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.

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