Assetmark Inc. Acquires 111,135 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,788,249 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 111,135 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $107,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $661,052,000 after purchasing an additional 32,264 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,242,000 after purchasing an additional 298,779 shares during the period. 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 worth $467,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953,372 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $451,075,000 after buying an additional 2,799,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,220,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $423,222,000 after buying an additional 505,614 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of CFG opened at $74.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.53. 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 fifty-two week low of $45.90 and a fifty-two week high of $74.70. The firm has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CFG. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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, July 6th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.10.

More Citizens Financial Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens Financial beat Q2 earnings estimates with EPS of $1.30 versus $1.25 expected, while revenue rose 12.1% year over year and net income climbed 35%, signaling solid operating momentum. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s raised net interest margin outlook added to optimism, suggesting profitability could improve further in coming quarters. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Higher net interest income and fee income were key drivers of the profit jump, indicating stronger core banking revenue and healthier business trends. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup? No—Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on CFG to $80 and reiterated an overweight rating, reinforcing a bullish analyst view after the results. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call option activity ahead of the earnings release suggests traders were positioning for upside, but it does not by itself change the company’s fundamentals.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.