Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Reduces Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. decreased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 561,993 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 35,544 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group accounts for 1.3% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $32,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. FORA Capital LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 246.7% in the 4th quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 51,081 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 36,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 4,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $67.54 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $28.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.33. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.17 and a 12 month high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 43.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CFG. Truist Financial upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.88.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

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.