Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,027 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,328 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $41.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.11. The stock has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.06 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.06.

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.