Montchanin Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Montchanin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $600,000. Citizens Financial Group makes up about 0.6% of Montchanin Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,682,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $160,857,000 after purchasing an additional 126,499 shares in the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,408,000. Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 37,111 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 4,106 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 6,330 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,206 shares of the bank’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $71.78 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.90 and a fifty-two week high of $74.70. The stock has a market cap of $30.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.42.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CFG. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.05.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.