O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 45,469 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 518,444 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,469 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Citizens Financial Group worth $22,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 207.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,272,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $339,733,000 after purchasing an additional 5,579,313 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $243,431,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,826,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,060,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615,144 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $56,483,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,543,207 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,051,000 after purchasing an additional 839,041 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE CFG opened at $40.26 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.66 and a 200 day moving average of $44.16. The company has a market capitalization of $17.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.06 and a 1 year high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CFG. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

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.