Empowered Funds LLC Increases Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 182.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,775 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 22,484 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,513,000 after buying an additional 10,466 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 54,154 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $72.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.81. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $46.53 and a one year high of $74.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.