Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 8,986 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,309 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,986 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2,703.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG opened at $62.93 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $61.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.10. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.80 and a 1 year high of $68.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.50%.

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.