Amalgamated Bank Decreases Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 5.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 144,669 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,743 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $5,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 484.4% during the 2nd quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $170,357.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,401.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $41.65 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $43.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.11. The company has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI raised 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 report on Tuesday, June 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.20.

Citizens Financial Group 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.