Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,034,949 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 744,489 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $241,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE CFG opened at $71.39 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $45.90 and a one year high of $74.70. The firm has a market cap of $30.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 39.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CFG. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Argus set a $80.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

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.