Hager Investment Management Services LLC Acquires 3,660 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 35.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,980 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,660 shares during the quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in 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. Investors Research Corp boosted its position in 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. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 72.4% during the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 736 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $52.00 on Thursday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $55.24. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $48.50 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.40.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.