Optas LLC Purchases 7,716 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 164.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,414 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,716 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 319.8% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 424 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Align Financial LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CFG. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $72.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Friday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $82.00 price objective on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.79.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,251,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,773,208. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.00 and a twelve month high of $75.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.74.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 30th. This is a positive change from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 41.85%.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Through Citizens Bank and related businesses, it provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, personal and business loans, credit cards, wealth management, and commercial lending and cash-management services. The company also provides capital markets and other financial services to corporate clients.