State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 21,061 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D sold 21,061 shares of Citizens Financial Group, reducing its stake by 19.1% to 89,119 shares valued at about $5.21 million.
• Citizens reported quarterly EPS of $1.13 (vs. $1.10 expected) and revenue of $2.17 billion (up 12% year‑over‑year), and analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $70.88 (19 Buys, 1 Hold).
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (annualized $1.84) for a yield of roughly 2.9%, payable May 14 to shareholders of record April 30.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,119 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,061 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $5,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,528,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 687,602 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,553,000 after purchasing an additional 140,641 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 135,208 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,923 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 479,415 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,284,000 after purchasing an additional 129,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,412,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $64.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.88 and a twelve month high of $68.79. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $61.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.94. The firm has a market cap of $27.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 165,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. New Street Research set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.88.

About Citizens Financial Group

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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