Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Newly Purchased by Union Savings Bank

Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,539 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $3,415,046,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,719,160 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $282,927,000 after purchasing an additional 28,602 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 31.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,685,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $258,265,000 after purchasing an additional 875,666 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,386,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $207,234,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.51. 4,481,779 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,596,083. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.62 and a 200-day moving average of $67.00. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $47.96 and a one year high of $75.33. The firm has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CFG. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.08.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions through branches, digital channels and other delivery platforms.

The company’s consumer banking activities include checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lending, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Through its commercial banking operations, Citizens provides business loans, commercial real estate financing, treasury management, capital markets services and other solutions for companies and institutional clients.