Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 95,919 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,157 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 95,919 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CFG. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,640 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $34.99 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $22.77 and a one year high of $36.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.61 and its 200 day moving average is $30.89. The stock has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CFG shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays downgraded Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $151,198.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.