Amalgamated Bank Trims Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Amalgamated Bank cut its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 2.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 84,011 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,937 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% in the 2nd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 16,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 736 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $50.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.39. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $55.24.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.48%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 29th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CFG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $61.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.57.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.