Swedbank AB Buys 402,845 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 23.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,107,414 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 402,845 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $126,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $355,909,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $451,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799,050 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 89.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,731,592 shares of the bank’s stock worth $276,372,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232,806 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 136.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,513,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $205,217,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $467,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953,372 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Citizens Financial Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS Group raised its price target on Citizens Financial Group (CFG) to $82 from $75 and kept a buy rating, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. Citizens Financial Group had its price target raised by UBS Group AG from $75.00 to $82.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also lifted its target on CFG to $76 from $68.50 and maintained an overweight rating, reinforcing a constructive view on the bank’s valuation. Citizens Financial Group had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.50 to $76.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens Financial Group announced that CEO Bruce Van Saun will speak at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference in September, which is a routine investor-relations event and does not by itself change fundamentals. Citizens Financial Group to Participate at the Barclays 24th Annual Global Financial Services Conference.
• Neutral Sentiment: Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $72 target, suggesting the shares are fairly valued near current levels. Citizens Financial Group had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Robert W. Baird.
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate head-to-head review comparing CFG with Peoples Financial Services is mainly informational and unlikely to materially affect the stock price. Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) & Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Head-To-Head Review.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on CFG shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.4%

CFG stock opened at $71.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.98. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.90 and a 52 week high of $72.94. 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 (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 43.50%.

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.