2,445,890 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 3,329.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,519,343 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,445,890 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group accounts for about 0.7% of Candriam S.C.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.60% of Citizens Financial Group worth $160,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,415,046,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7,979.7% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 12,165,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $775,663,000 after purchasing an additional 12,014,785 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,252.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,204,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $586,883,000 after purchasing an additional 8,523,938 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,719,160 shares of the bank’s stock worth $282,927,000 after purchasing an additional 28,602 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 31.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,685,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $258,265,000 after purchasing an additional 875,666 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.8%

CFG opened at $63.34 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.00 and a fifty-two week high of $75.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.87 and a 200-day moving average of $65.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.74.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 18.07%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This is a boost from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 41.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $81.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.79.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Through Citizens Bank and related businesses, it provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, wealth management, and commercial lending and cash-management services. The company also provides capital markets and other financial services to corporate clients.

Citizens traces its history to High Street Bank, founded in Providence in 1828.