Savant Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Savant Capital LLC cut its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 81.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,055 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 62,347 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the bank’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the bank’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,107 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,270 shares of the bank’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG stock opened at $62.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.69 and a 52 week high of $68.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.47 and its 200 day moving average is $60.56. The firm has a market cap of $26.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.68.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.