111 Capital Decreases Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

111 Capital lessened its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 74.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,188 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,140 shares during the period. 111 Capital’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 344.8% in the second quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 645 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 177.5% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 641 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CFG. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Citizens Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $53.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.70.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $54.02 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.59. The firm has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.