Fmr LLC Sells 3,907,184 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Fmr LLC lessened its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 49.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,001,206 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,907,184 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $164,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 13,177 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,344 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 88,829 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,648,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 16,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $46.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.08. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.97 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.80.

Citizens Financial Group 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.