Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $207,000 Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Howard Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 70.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,546 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,590 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 891.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 632.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 710 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,970.0% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2,703.0% during the second quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CFG. New Street Research set a $73.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $64.20 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.73 and a 1 year high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.55%.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.