Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,081,725 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 678,601 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $296,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 261.5% in the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group 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 sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group 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 directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $64.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.68. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.17 and a 12-month high of $68.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.81.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CFG shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.88.

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.