Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Invests $14.16 Million in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 202,099 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $14,161,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CFG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter worth $3,415,046,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $661,052,000 after purchasing an additional 32,264 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,242,000 after purchasing an additional 298,779 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $467,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953,372 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $451,075,000 after buying an additional 2,799,050 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG opened at $69.86 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $29.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.62. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.96 and a 12-month high of $75.33.

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

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CFG. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.25.

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.