Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $23.27 Million Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG – Get Rating) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 591,004 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 25,063 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Citizens Financial Group worth $23,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 131,537 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 21,740 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 32,069 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 219,984 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,661,000 after purchasing an additional 14,098 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 584,445 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,010,000 after purchasing an additional 47,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, Director Shivan S. Subramaniam purchased 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.79 per share, for a total transaction of $95,007.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 66,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,711.77. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Citizens Financial Group news, Director Terrance Lillis purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.39 per share, for a total transaction of $26,390.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,170. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shivan S. Subramaniam purchased 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.79 per share, for a total transaction of $95,007.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 66,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,711.77. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $26.18 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.37 and a twelve month high of $44.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.73. The company has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.11). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $1.15 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 2nd. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CFG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 30th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.18.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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Citizens Financial Group, Inc engages in the provision of commercial banking services. It operates through the Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking segments. The Consumer Banking segment includes deposit products, mortgage and home equity lending, student loans, auto financing, credit cards, business loans, and wealth management and investment services.