Vista Investment Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 68,579 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 68,579 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,006,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFG. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $7,528,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 25.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 687,602 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,553,000 after acquiring an additional 140,641 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 33.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 135,208 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,923 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 37.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 479,415 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,284,000 after purchasing an additional 129,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $60,434,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:CFG opened at $60.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.20. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.60 and a 52 week high of $68.79. The company has a market cap of $25.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 15.19%.The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 47.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CFG shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. New Street Research set a $73.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.27.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.