Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 25,063 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG – Get Rating) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 591,004 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 25,063 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $23,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,656.0% during the 3rd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 878 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 875 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $83,000. Institutional investors own 88.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Terrance Lillis bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.39 per share, with a total value of $26,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,170. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Terrance Lillis bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.39 per share, with a total value of $26,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,170. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shivan S. Subramaniam bought 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.79 per share, with a total value of $95,007.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 66,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,711.77. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.50 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.18.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $26.18 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.37 and a 1 year high of $44.82. The stock has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.94 and a 200 day moving average of $36.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.11). Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $1.15 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 3rd were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.42%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.48%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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Citizens Financial Group, Inc engages in the provision of commercial banking services. It operates through the Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking segments. The Consumer Banking segment includes deposit products, mortgage and home equity lending, student loans, auto financing, credit cards, business loans, and wealth management and investment services.