Ieq Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 536.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 285,654 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 240,788 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $12,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CFG. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 558.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 208,476 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,562,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,939 shares of the bank’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 103.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 5,192 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,954 shares of the bank’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $47.47 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.10. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.30 and a 12-month high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CFG shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

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.