KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys 7,500 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,060 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $6,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% in the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $49.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.79. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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 stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $48.50 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.86.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.