Howard Capital Management Inc. Sells 8,590 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Howard Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 70.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,546 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,590 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,970.0% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2,703.0% during the second quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. New Street Research set a $73.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG stock opened at $64.20 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.73 and a 12-month high of $68.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 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, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 47.55%.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.