Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Increases Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of Kentucky increased its stake by 10.8%, buying 64,000 shares to hold 655,634 shares of Citizens Financial Group valued at about $38.3 million (≈0.15% ownership).
• Citizens beat Q1 expectations with $1.13 EPS vs. $1.10 expected and $2.17 billion in revenue (up 12% YoY); Wall Street is largely bullish with a consensus target of about $70.86 (19 Buys, 1 Hold).
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share (annualized $1.84), a 2.9% yield, with an ex-dividend date of April 30 and payment on May 14.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 655,634 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 64,000 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.15% of Citizens Financial Group worth $38,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CFG. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,466 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:CFG opened at $63.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.90 and a 52 week high of $68.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.26 and a 200 day moving average of $58.50.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFG has been the subject of several research reports. New Street Research set a $73.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson increased 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 report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.86.

Citizens Financial Group 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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