KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 140,760 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 140,760 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,160,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $227,000. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 13,177 shares of the bank’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 1,593 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 373,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,340,000 after buying an additional 67,241 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CFG opened at $42.24 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.06 and a 12-month high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 55.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Nine investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

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.