Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 21,700 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 22.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 73,484 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 21,700 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 21,138 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth $410,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 37.9% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $48.31 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $49.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $48.50 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.