Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 558.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,712 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $70,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 35.9% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 78,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 20,649 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 101.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 761,679 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,641,000 after purchasing an additional 383,947 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,180,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 642.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 272,676 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,895,000 after purchasing an additional 235,958 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,045.4% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,692 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 23,449 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CFG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.80.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $41.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.07. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $44.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.22.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Citizens Financial Group 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.