TFB Advisors LLC Takes Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• TFB Advisors LLC has acquired 5,944 shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. valued at approximately $244,000 during the first quarter, reflecting growing institutional interest in the bank's stock.
• Citizens Financial Group reported earnings of $0.92 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and indicating a 3.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The bank has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, yielding 3.4%, and is initiating a stock buyback program worth $1.50 billion, suggesting confidence in its stock value.

TFB Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,944 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 68,816 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,770,000 after buying an additional 3,952 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 37,372 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 91,560 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,750,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 7.2% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,380,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $425,293,000 after purchasing an additional 697,494 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Financial Co bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $1,017,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CFG shares. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, August 1st. Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG traded down $0.0050 during trading on Monday, reaching $50.7650. The stock had a trading volume of 1,887,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,778,379. The stock has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $50.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.86 and a 200-day moving average of $42.74.

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

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.