Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 3,329.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,519,343 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,445,890 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group accounts for approximately 0.7% of Candriam S.C.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $160,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1,153.7% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 952,255 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,716,000 after buying an additional 876,299 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 96.3% in the third quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 78,640 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,014,000 after buying an additional 38,583 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 436.1% in the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,722,655 shares of the bank’s stock worth $109,836,000 after buying an additional 1,401,301 shares during the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $159,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,111 shares of the bank’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $63.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.74. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $49.00 and a one year high of $75.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $65.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.64.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is a boost from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CFG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Friday, October 30th. TD Cowen started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.79.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Through Citizens Bank and related businesses, it provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, wealth management, and commercial lending and cash-management services. The company also provides capital markets and other financial services to corporate clients.

Citizens traces its history to High Street Bank, founded in Providence in 1828.