Nordea Investment Management AB Purchases 505,614 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,220,986 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 505,614 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $423,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. StoneX Group Inc. raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 60,307 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,784 shares of the bank’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 7,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gries Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 7,331 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $56.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.60 and a fifty-two week high of $68.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.81.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CFG. New Street Research set a $73.00 price objective on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 165,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.