Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Boosts Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) by 50.8% in Q3 to 85,895 shares, valued at about $4.57 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly bullish — the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with 20 Buys and 1 Hold and an average price target of $69.95, alongside recent target increases from several banks.
• Insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares at an average of $58.04 (≈$769k), while CFG posted an EPS beat (Q: $1.13 vs. $1.11) and pays a $0.46 quarterly dividend (≈3.2% yield).

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 50.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,895 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 28,921 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $4,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,970.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2,703.0% in the second quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3,569.2% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 954 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays set a $77.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $66.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.95.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CFG opened at $56.94 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $68.79. The firm has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 47.55%.

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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