Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Pier 88 Investment Partners disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Citizens Financial Group, buying 47,100 shares valued at about $2.75 million.
• Citizens Financial Group reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.13 EPS versus $1.10 expected and revenue of $2.17 billion, up 12% year over year.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.0%; analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 47,100 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,751,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $7,528,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 25.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 687,602 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,553,000 after acquiring an additional 140,641 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 33.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 135,208 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,923 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 504,595 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,968,000 after acquiring an additional 25,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $2,412,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $62.20 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.33 and a 200-day moving average of $59.43. The firm has a market cap of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.80 and a 1-year high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other 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 sale, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group 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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