Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Makes New $4.88 Million Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 69,289 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,880,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $3,415,046,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $355,909,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $223,386,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $207,234,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $451,075,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799,050 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $69.76 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.46 and its 200 day moving average is $65.69. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.96 and a 1-year high of $75.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $29.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 presently 39.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.25.

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.