LSV Asset Management Reduces Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,203,383 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 171,877 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group accounts for about 0.8% of LSV Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $362,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 10,466 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,739 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,225 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CFG shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.88.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:CFG opened at $62.93 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.04. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.80 and a 52-week high of $68.79. The company has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 43.50%.

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.