Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 574 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 77.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,314 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 574 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 57,592,192 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,749,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540,392 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,577,041 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $776,775,000 after purchasing an additional 241,869 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 76.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,002,482 shares of the bank’s stock worth $861,383,000 after buying an additional 8,203,831 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,297,989 shares of the bank’s stock worth $720,392,000 after buying an additional 2,785,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 5.7% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,594,481 shares of the bank’s stock worth $310,732,000 after buying an additional 621,715 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $151,198.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,902.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $33.98 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $36.38. The company has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 13.19%. Citizens Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. TheStreet raised Citizens Financial Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Citigroup raised Citizens Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.88.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.