Empowered Funds LLC Buys 579 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,487 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 579 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

CFG opened at $48.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.13 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The firm has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.99 and its 200-day moving average is $39.93.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

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.