First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,327,479 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 186,779 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $70,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,548,977 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,306,817,000 after purchasing an additional 209,467 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 23,671,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,059,293,000 after purchasing an additional 283,321 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 4.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,715,372 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $353,430,000 after buying an additional 315,467 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 14.5% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,562,791 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $293,685,000 after buying an additional 833,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $308,946,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $62.50 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.95.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $58.87 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $68.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.55. The company has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.55%.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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.