United Asset Strategies Inc. Acquires New Shares in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

United Asset Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 10,123 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the bank’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the bank’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 19,694 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CFG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.35.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.4%

CFG opened at $71.81 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.90 and a fifty-two week high of $72.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $65.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.98. The company has a market capitalization of $30.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 43.50%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Citizens Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS Group raised its price target on Citizens Financial Group (CFG) to $82 from $75 and kept a buy rating, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. Citizens Financial Group had its price target raised by UBS Group AG from $75.00 to $82.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also lifted its target on CFG to $76 from $68.50 and maintained an overweight rating, reinforcing a constructive view on the bank’s valuation. Citizens Financial Group had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.50 to $76.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens Financial Group announced that CEO Bruce Van Saun will speak at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference in September, which is a routine investor-relations event and does not by itself change fundamentals. Citizens Financial Group to Participate at the Barclays 24th Annual Global Financial Services Conference.
• Neutral Sentiment: Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $72 target, suggesting the shares are fairly valued near current levels. Citizens Financial Group had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Robert W. Baird.
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate head-to-head review comparing CFG with Peoples Financial Services is mainly informational and unlikely to materially affect the stock price. Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) & Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Head-To-Head Review.

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.