USS Investment Management Ltd Cuts Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,158 shares of the bank's stock after selling 27,407 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,158,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 71.1% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 19,092 shares of the bank's stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,933 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 22,615 shares of the bank's stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 3,506 shares in the last quarter. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $9,531,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the bank's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of CFG traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.74. The stock had a trading volume of 5,165,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,817,461. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.96. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.74.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.