Signal Advisors Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Signal Advisors Wealth LLC invested $341,000 in Citizens Financial Group, purchasing 7,614 shares during the second quarter.
• Citizens Financial Group reported $0.92 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a revenue increase of 3.8% from the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a $1.50 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Signal Advisors Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,614 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,380,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $425,293,000 after purchasing an additional 697,494 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,366,754 shares of the bank's stock valued at $294,007,000 after buying an additional 1,180,390 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,801,856 shares of the bank's stock valued at $278,672,000 after buying an additional 554,618 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,730,786 shares of the bank's stock valued at $193,782,000 after buying an additional 41,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,703,836 shares of the bank's stock valued at $192,716,000 after buying an additional 86,237 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.69. 649,513 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,701,228. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.85 and a 200-day moving average of $43.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $53.85. The firm has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $48.50 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.35.

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.