New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,459 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,822 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $14,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG opened at $44.87 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.01. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.30 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The firm has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 55.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

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.