Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,150,703 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 43,631 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $50,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the subject of several research reports. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.06.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $34.28 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.81. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.51 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.10.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.45%.

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.