Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 69,289 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 69,289 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,880,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, 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 during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $69.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.69. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.96 and a 52 week high of $75.33. The company has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CFG. Barclays lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted 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 note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average 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.