Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 34,133 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 33.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,312 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 34,133 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CFG opened at $51.82 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $52.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $61.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

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.