Korea Investment CORP Acquires New Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 944,042 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $66,149,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 319.8% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 424 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $69.84 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.96 and a 1 year high of $75.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $71.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.56. The firm has a market cap of $29.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group 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.