Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 48.7%, selling 11,607 shares and leaving it with 12,213 shares worth approximately $500,000.
• Citizens Financial Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.92, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.88, with a net margin of 13.26%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 3.5% dividend yield, along with a $1.50 billion share repurchase program approved by its Board of Directors.

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 48.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,213 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,607 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 35,900,115 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,570,989,000 after buying an additional 1,131,838 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,683,111 shares of the bank's stock worth $423,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,204 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,247,238 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,378,000 after purchasing an additional 374,850 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,186,364 shares of the bank's stock valued at $270,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,689,082 shares of the bank's stock valued at $205,194,000 after purchasing an additional 96,067 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded up $0.05 on Monday, hitting $48.33. 839,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,802,098. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $46.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.68. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $49.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The firm's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus set a $45.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, TD Cowen started 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group 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.