Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 520.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 839,262 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 704,054 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $49,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2,703.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

CFG stock opened at $62.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.50. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.40 and a 52 week high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CFG. Weiss Ratings upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.88.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.