Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Sold by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 48.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,192 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 21,188 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $398,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 21,138 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $410,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 37.9% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of CFG stock opened at $50.7350 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.81. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $50.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CFG. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.53.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.