World Investment Advisors Buys New Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

World Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,996 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CFG. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter worth $398,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 21,138 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,069,813 shares of the bank's stock valued at $43,830,000 after purchasing an additional 54,189 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 17.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,414 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,949,000 after buying an additional 7,302 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded up $0.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.89. The stock had a trading volume of 5,402,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,857,786. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $49.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.24. The stock has a market cap of $20.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.32.

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.