United Asset Strategies Inc. Takes $607,000 Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

United Asset Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 10,123 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 37,289,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,982,532,000 after purchasing an additional 614,181 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,064,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,279,270,000 after purchasing an additional 393,158 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $661,052,000 after purchasing an additional 32,264 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,242,000 after buying an additional 298,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $467,389,000 after buying an additional 1,953,372 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Citizens Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Citizens Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS Group raised its price target on Citizens Financial Group (CFG) to $82 from $75 and kept a buy rating, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. Citizens Financial Group had its price target raised by UBS Group AG from $75.00 to $82.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also lifted its target on CFG to $76 from $68.50 and maintained an overweight rating, reinforcing a constructive view on the bank’s valuation. Citizens Financial Group had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.50 to $76.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens Financial Group announced that CEO Bruce Van Saun will speak at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference in September, which is a routine investor-relations event and does not by itself change fundamentals. Citizens Financial Group to Participate at the Barclays 24th Annual Global Financial Services Conference.
• Neutral Sentiment: Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $72 target, suggesting the shares are fairly valued near current levels. Citizens Financial Group had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Robert W. Baird.
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate head-to-head review comparing CFG with Peoples Financial Services is mainly informational and unlikely to materially affect the stock price. Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) & Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) Head-To-Head Review.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Stephens started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.35.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 Down 0.4%

Shares of CFG stock opened at $71.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.90 and a 1 year high of $72.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.