Lynx Investment Advisory Cuts Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Lynx Investment Advisory lessened its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,718 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 903 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $398,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,248,000 after buying an additional 8,851 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 21,138 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $410,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 37.9% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $51.78 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.19 and a 200-day moving average of $43.31. The company has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.60 and a 1-year high of $52.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 51.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CFG shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

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.