First Trust Advisors LP Has $68.30 Million Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,138,819 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 122,515 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $68,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 10,466 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.55.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $71.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.90 and a fifty-two week high of $74.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.05. The firm has a market cap of $30.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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.