Versor Investments LP Invests $1.05 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has invested approximately $1.05 million in Citizens Financial Group, acquiring 25,600 shares of the bank's stock during the 1st quarter.
• Citizen Financial Group announced a share buyback plan authorizing the repurchase of up to $1.50 billion in shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.92, surpassing analysts' expectations, and a 3.5% dividend yield with a current payout ratio of 51.06%.

Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 25,600 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,683,111 shares of the bank's stock worth $423,733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,204 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,247,238 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,378,000 after buying an additional 374,850 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,186,364 shares of the bank's stock worth $270,715,000 after buying an additional 1,507,536 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,730,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $193,782,000 after buying an additional 41,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,617,599 shares of the bank's stock worth $202,066,000 after buying an additional 684,039 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $48.31 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $49.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.68. The stock has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI raised Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.53.

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.

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