Caxton Associates LLP Takes $1.29 Million Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 31,535 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $398,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 21,138 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $410,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 37.9% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised 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. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $51.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.20. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $52.85. The company has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its 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 net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 shares are undervalued.

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.