New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 19,822 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 327,459 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,822 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.07% of Citizens Financial Group worth $14,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CFG shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Compass Point lifted their price target 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. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 2.8 %

CFG stock opened at $44.87 on Monday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.30 and a twelve month high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.01.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The firm’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 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.