Swedbank AB Trims Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 10.6% in Q4, selling 201,135 shares and now owning 1,704,569 shares (~0.40% of CFG) valued at about $99.56 million.
• Citizens beat quarterly expectations with $1.13 EPS vs. $1.10 est. and $2.17B revenue (up 12% YoY), declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (2.8% yield), and trades near $65.71 with a consensus price target of $70.88 ("Moderate Buy").

Swedbank AB lessened its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,704,569 shares of the bank's stock after selling 201,135 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.40% of Citizens Financial Group worth $99,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 902,562 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,603,000 after purchasing an additional 28,370 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 57,662 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,368,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,627 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,789,000 after buying an additional 4,980 shares in the last quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $318,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of CFG opened at $65.71 on Thursday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.93 and a 1 year high of $68.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.15. The firm has a market cap of $27.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 43.50%.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.88.

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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