Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Acquires Shares of 380,337 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 380,337 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $26,650,000. Citizens Financial Group accounts for about 1.1% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned approximately 0.09% of Citizens Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,415,046,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $355,909,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter worth $207,234,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $451,075,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799,050 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $175,948,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.25.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.9%

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $70.48 on Thursday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.96 and a fifty-two week high of $75.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 39.91%.

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.