Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 111,157 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 95,919 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth $40,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 336.3% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CFG. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.13.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $151,198.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG opened at $34.99 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $36.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.89.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

Citizens Financial Group 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.