Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,192,966 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,419,280 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.09% of Citizens Financial Group worth $377,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Nine research 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.47.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $47.09 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.34. The company has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.08. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.97 and a 52-week high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.14%.

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.