Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 1,410.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 890,438 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 831,484 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $56,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CFG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $3,415,046,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,252.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,204,563 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $586,883,000 after buying an additional 8,523,938 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,719,160 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $282,927,000 after buying an additional 28,602 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,685,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $258,265,000 after buying an additional 875,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,386,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CFG stock opened at $62.70 on Tuesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.00 and a 52-week high of $75.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.13.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 18.07%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $72.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.58.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.