Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Buys 12,476 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,726 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 12,476 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $6,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,766 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the bank’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 53,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,207,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 32,767 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,342,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 17,386 shares of the bank’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $50.73 on Tuesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $50.88. The firm has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.76.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.