Brandes Investment Partners LP Acquires 4,031 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,268 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Compass Point increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.22.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of CFG stock opened at $40.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.06 and a one year high of $49.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. Citizens Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 55.45%.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.