Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,862 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,859 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $6,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 484.4% during the second quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $48,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CFG opened at $40.69 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.10. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $43.96.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 10.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 60.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $170,357.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,401.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CFG. Raymond James started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.20.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.