Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Invests $25.03 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 357,200 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $25,029,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Citizens Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 319.8% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 424 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.4%

CFG opened at $69.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $47.96 and a one year high of $75.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.53. The company has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Argus set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.25.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.