BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Acquires 78,245 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 97.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 158,222 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 78,245 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $6,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CFG. Citigroup lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.80.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $47.65 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.84. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.13 and a 12-month high of $48.35. The firm has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.14%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.