Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Increases Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 115.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,765 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,880 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,709,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,332,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,333 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,580,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $237,106,000 after purchasing an additional 113,300 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,429,264 shares of the bank’s stock worth $159,550,000 after purchasing an additional 587,115 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 15.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,625,128 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $130,722,000 after purchasing an additional 480,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 96.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,472,122 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212,642 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.20.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $41.65 on Monday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.77 and a twelve month high of $43.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $170,357.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,401.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.