Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 647 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,683 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 647 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CFG. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 8.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,954 shares of the bank’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 107,788 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,427,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 16.3% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 8,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 16.6% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 118,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,859,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CFG. Citigroup lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Compass Point boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE CFG opened at $44.87 on Monday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.30 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The firm has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.79 and a 200-day moving average of $44.01.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.45%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.