The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $139.43 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 1.99 million Citizens Financial Group shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $139.4 million and representing a 0.47% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.9% of CFG.
• Citizens Financial Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.30 in EPS and $2.28 billion in revenue, with revenue up 12.1% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, yielding approximately 2.6%.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 16 Buy ratings and four Holds, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $79.25 versus the reported share price of $70.23.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,989,874 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $139,431,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.47% of Citizens Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $88,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,890,000. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,660,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,367,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $70.23 on Tuesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.96 and a fifty-two week high of $75.33. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $71.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $29.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 39.91%.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.25.

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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