Truist Financial Corp Reduces Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Truist Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,111 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,602 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $7,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,122 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 17,598 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $378,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 160.4% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,448,050 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $142,991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,817,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CFG shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.88.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $63.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.25. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.80 and a twelve month high of $68.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.50%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.