Royal Bank of Canada Buys 374,850 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,247,238 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 374,850 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 1.42% of Citizens Financial Group worth $273,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFG. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CFG. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. Argus set a $45.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG stock traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.65. 3,606,154 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,814,149. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.14.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 53.33%.

Citizens Financial Group 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.