Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 89.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 4.73 million shares valued at about $276.4 million.
• Citizens Financial Group reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.13 per share on revenue of $2.17 billion, with revenue up 12% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on CFG, with 19 Buy ratings and an average price target of $70.88; the stock also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.46, or a 2.7% yield.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 89.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,731,592 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 2,232,806 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 1.10% of Citizens Financial Group worth $276,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 261.5% in the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 893 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of CFG opened at $67.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.68. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.17 and a 12-month high of $68.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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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