PGGM Investments Purchases 7,871 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

PGGM Investments boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,557 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,871 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 686.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,014 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $36.50 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.20.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 2.4 %

Citizens Financial Group stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.07. 1,446,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,483,362. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $22.77 and a one year high of $43.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $170,357.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,620 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,401.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.