Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Position Increased by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 1,261.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,535 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 7,908 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MN Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $491,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1,515.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 116,585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,433,000 after purchasing an additional 109,370 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 145.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 773,677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,330,000 after purchasing an additional 458,698 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 2,887.7% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 178,604 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,388,000 after purchasing an additional 172,626 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CFG opened at $65.19 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.24. The stock has a market cap of $27.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.72. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.00 and a 1-year high of $75.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 18.07%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $89.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $82.00 target price on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.47.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.