Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New $13.30 Million Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 189,873 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $13,304,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CFG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,415,046,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $661,052,000 after buying an additional 32,264 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,242,000 after buying an additional 298,779 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $467,389,000 after buying an additional 1,953,372 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $451,075,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799,050 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $73.45 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.43. The stock has a market cap of $30.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.96 and a 12 month high of $75.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.