Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires New Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 226,129 shares of Citizens Financial Group worth approximately $15.8 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.9% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 16 Buy ratings and four Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $79.25.
• Citizens Financial Group exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.30 in earnings per share and $2.28 billion in revenue; it also maintains a $0.46 quarterly dividend, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 226,129 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $15,845,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.05% of Citizens Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,466 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.1%

CFG opened at $69.76 on Monday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $47.96 and a one year high of $75.33. The company has a market cap of $29.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $71.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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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