Brandes Investment Partners LP Purchases 11,556 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,001 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,556 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 19,694 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG stock opened at $65.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.18. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.17 and a twelve month high of $68.79. The firm has a market cap of $27.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.68.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CFG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. DA Davidson raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.88.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.