Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 2,798.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 494,979 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 477,902 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $28,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,466 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG stock opened at $66.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.66 and a 200-day moving average of $61.48. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.25 and a 12-month high of $68.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $28.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.68.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.88.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.