Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Acquires 29,807 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 463.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,232 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,807 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group accounts for approximately 0.9% of Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,415,046,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7,979.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 12,165,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $775,663,000 after purchasing an additional 12,014,785 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,252.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,204,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $586,883,000 after purchasing an additional 8,523,938 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,719,160 shares of the bank’s stock worth $282,927,000 after purchasing an additional 28,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 31.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,685,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $258,265,000 after purchasing an additional 875,666 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $64.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.19. 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. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This is a boost from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $89.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.