Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Stake Increased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 4,682.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,285,906 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,217,195 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $209,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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 in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $63.79 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.00 and a 1 year high of $75.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 41.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CFG. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Argus decreased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.79.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.