Swedbank AB Sells 17,723 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. by 4.9%, selling 17,723 shares, and now holds 345,459 shares valued at approximately $14.15 million.
• Citizens Financial Group raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share, yielding 3.2%, with an annualized dividend of $1.68.
• Barclays and Raymond James both increased their target prices for CFG shares, with Barclays setting it at $55 and Raymond James at $57, reflecting positive market sentiment towards the stock.

Swedbank AB trimmed its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 345,459 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,723 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.08% of Citizens Financial Group worth $14,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $108,864,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 11,167.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,347,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,577 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,366,754 shares of the bank's stock valued at $294,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,390 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $38,915,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,790,291 shares of the bank's stock valued at $114,318,000 after purchasing an additional 916,760 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $53.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,097,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,795,203. The firm has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.62. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $53.78.

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

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.35.

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.