MQS Management LLC Sells 1,777 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

MQS Management LLC cut its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,684 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,777 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CFG. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 12.3% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 180,889 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,411,000 after buying an additional 19,847 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 370.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 1,693 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 8.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 21,138 shares during the period. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 39.9% in the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 298,634 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,235,000 after acquiring an additional 85,245 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG opened at $52.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.79. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.64 and a 200 day moving average of $45.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 29th. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CFG. Raymond James Financial set a $62.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Citizens Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.57.

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.