NFJ Investment Group LLC Takes Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 169,975 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $11,910,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% during the 1st 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 boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $69.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 0.54 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.53. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.96 and a 52 week 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 39.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CFG shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

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