Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $1.75 Million Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 58.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,066 shares of the bank's stock after selling 57,068 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $8,134,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,999 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 7,119 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,694,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 1,152,151 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,430,000 after purchasing an additional 367,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,974,434 shares of the bank's stock worth $217,781,000 after acquiring an additional 805,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CFG traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $37.33. 3,201,039 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,792,918. The company's 50-day moving average is $39.34 and its 200-day moving average is $43.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.81. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 6.75% 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. Analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CFG shares. Stephens lowered their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.18.

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.