Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $289,000 Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,449 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% during the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $45,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CFG shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.10.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $53.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $53.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.55. The firm has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.06%.

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

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.