Ascent Group LLC Buys 23,514 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,283 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,514 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $4,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CFG. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,016 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Salzhauer Michael grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 15.1% in the third quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 21,391 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 5,444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 7,376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 61,765 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,283,000 after purchasing an additional 14,609 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $58.93 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $60.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.04.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 29th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut Citizens Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $62.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued 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 $57.57.

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.