Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc reduced its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 374,206 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 101,223 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $16,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $108,864,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 11,167.0% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,347,537 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,577 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,366,754 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $294,007,000 after buying an additional 1,180,390 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 20.7% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,399,905 shares of the bank’s stock worth $287,932,000 after buying an additional 1,098,684 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 291.5% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,352,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,522,000 after buying an additional 1,006,999 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $51.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.82. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.60 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.48%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 29th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Citizens Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Citizens Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.57.

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.