Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 28,602 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 0.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,719,160 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,602 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $282,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 504,595 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,968,000 after purchasing an additional 25,180 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $2,412,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $661,052,000 after purchasing an additional 32,264 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 270,484 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,799,000 after purchasing an additional 85,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 991,510 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,914,000 after purchasing an additional 94,774 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of CFG opened at $72.44 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.67. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.90 and a 12-month high of $74.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CFG shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.55.

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.