Machina Capital S.A.S. Acquires 32,506 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 32,506 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,073,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CFG. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 319.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 424 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE CFG opened at $64.95 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.74. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.00 and a 12 month high of $75.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CFG. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $81.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Barclays increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $72.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.79.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Through Citizens Bank and related businesses, it provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, wealth management, and commercial lending and cash-management services. The company also provides capital markets and other financial services to corporate clients.