abrdn plc Raises Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 66.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,260 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,247 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $6,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 336.3% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 121.1% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 61,885 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 33,897 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 44.1% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,548 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,212,000 after acquiring an additional 25,253 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 207,507 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,561,000 after acquiring an additional 7,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 207,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,550,000 after acquiring an additional 8,224 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $35.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.38. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.77 and a twelve month high of $36.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.98.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. Citizens Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $213,219.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays downgraded Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Argus lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.13.

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.