Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,925 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,077 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,330 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $292,000. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 11.8% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 8,242 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 21.0% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 2,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $25,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CFG. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 1.7 %

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $41.66 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.06 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The stock has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.45%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.