Ballentine Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,891 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $46,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. The firm moved its midcap bank industry view from Attractive to In-line, saying “higher and faster than expected” tariffs raise recession risks, will weigh on loan growth and in-turn, forward earnings and multiples. The group is “cheap,” but weaker for longer loan growth and inverted yield curve limit upside catalysts. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.32.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG stock opened at $46.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.33. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 6.84%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.