Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,011 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,957 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 336.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 77.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $151,198.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,885 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $34.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.77. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business’s revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 60.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays downgraded Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.93.

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.