Versant Capital Management Inc Raises Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,685 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $74,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CFG. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth $50,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 2.2 %

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $44.56 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.00. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.24 and a twelve month high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CFG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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.