Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $26.65 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 380,337 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $26,650,000. Citizens Financial Group accounts for about 1.1% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $70.48 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.65. The firm has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.96 and a twelve month high of $75.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CFG. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.25.

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.