Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 12.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 176,161 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 19,917 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $6,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 12.7% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,344 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 96,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,497,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 3.6% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,027 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG stock opened at $40.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.77. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $22.77 and a one year high of $43.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $170,357.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,401.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price 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. Ten equities research 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.20.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.