Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Acquires 351,143 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates increased its Citizens Financial Group stake by 1,399.9% in the third quarter, adding 351,143 shares for a total of 376,226 shares valued at approximately $24.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG.
• Citizens Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue of $2.32 billion fell short of expectations. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.52, equivalent to a 3.2% annual yield.
• CFG shares opened at $64.25, below the analyst consensus price target of $77.47; Wall Street maintains a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 16 analysts rating the stock Buy or Strong Buy and four assigning Hold ratings.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 1,399.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 376,226 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 351,143 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned 0.09% of Citizens Financial Group worth $23,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 649.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,063,823 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,829,000 after buying an additional 921,782 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 7,979.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 12,165,352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $775,663,000 after buying an additional 12,014,785 shares in the last quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the bank's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,287,000. Finally, Ballast Inc. grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1,329.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 65,746 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,192,000 after buying an additional 61,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG stock opened at $64.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.66 and a 200-day moving average of $67.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.00 and a 12 month high of $75.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 41.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CFG. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $89.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Argus set a $80.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.47.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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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