Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 8,953 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,925 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 8,953 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CFG. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $308,946,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $87,173,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 2,082,961 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $110,730,000 after buying an additional 1,594,326 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,434,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,511,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE CFG opened at $64.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.09. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.95 and a 52-week high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 47.55%.

More Citizens Financial Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat: CFG reported EPS $1.13 and revenue $2.17B, with net income up ~39% YoY and strong YoY EPS growth — core drivers were NII and fee income. This is the primary near‑term catalyst for the stock. TMCNet Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Margin expansion & private banking: Analysts and commentary highlight margin expansion and growth in private/wealth channels as sustainable earnings levers, supporting higher earnings estimates. Seeking Alpha Margin Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price target raises: Multiple firms raised targets (RBC to $70/outperform; Keefe Bruyette & Woods to $72/outperform; Truist to $69/hold), signaling ~7–12% upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Benzinga TickerReport The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared: CFG announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (annualized yield ~2.9%) with an ex‑dividend date of Apr 30 — supports income investors and base valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call & deep dive coverage: Transcripts and analyst deep dives (earnings slide deck and call transcripts) provide more detail on capital deployment, credit trends and guidance; useful for modeling forward EPS. Earnings Call Transcript Yahoo Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Rising expenses & uncertainty: Some coverage flagged higher operating expenses and geopolitical/market uncertainty, which trimmed pre‑market gains despite the beat and could pressure near‑term margins if the trend continues. Zacks on Expenses

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CFG. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays set a $77.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.90.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.