Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Purchases 48,852 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 179.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 76,119 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,852 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $4,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,958,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 89,976 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,783,000 after acquiring an additional 2,507 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 763,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,605,000 after acquiring an additional 6,029 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $395,000. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 257,886 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,709,000 after acquiring an additional 33,396 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CFG. Raymond James Financial downgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $62.50 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.95.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $55.59 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.41 and a 200 day moving average of $56.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $68.79.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 15.19%.The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.55%.

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.