Prudential PLC Sells 21,400 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has significantly reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group, selling 21,400 shares and now holding just 11,216 shares, valued at approximately $460,000.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Citizens Financial Group, with notable increases from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which boosted its holdings by 128.5%.
• Citizens Financial Group reported better-than-expected earnings for the last quarter, with an earnings per share of $0.92, beating analysts' estimates of $0.88.

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 65.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,216 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,400 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CFG. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 123,002 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,382,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,541 shares of the bank's stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,257 shares of the bank's stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 128.5% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 674,200 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,503,000 after buying an additional 379,200 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 575,406 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,175,000 after buying an additional 264,675 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Argus set a $45.00 price objective on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $48.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $49.98.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.

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