Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 818 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,989 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 818 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Center For Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $636,000. GAM Holding AG bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,281,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 196.1% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 24,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 16,469 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $42.96 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $49.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.59 and its 200 day moving average is $42.12. The stock has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. Sell-side 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 Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.33%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CFG. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price (down from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Argus set a $45.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.89.

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.