New England Research & Management Inc. Has $608,000 Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

New England Research & Management Inc. increased its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,837 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 35,900,115 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,570,989,000 after buying an additional 1,131,838 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,929,591 shares of the bank’s stock worth $477,043,000 after buying an additional 124,860 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,570,083 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $462,547,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,040 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,683,111 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $423,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,247,238 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,378,000 after purchasing an additional 374,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CFG. Barclays lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.89.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $40.27 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.44. The company has a market cap of $17.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.33%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.