Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 43.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,460 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,988 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 504,595 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,968,000 after purchasing an additional 25,180 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $2,412,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $661,052,000 after purchasing an additional 32,264 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 991,510 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,914,000 after buying an additional 94,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 270,484 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,799,000 after buying an additional 85,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $70.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.64 and a 52-week high of $71.21.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CFG shares. Stephens began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.64.

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.