Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Acquires 667,381 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 30.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,880,871 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 667,381 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $118,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFG. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position 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 buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $51.78 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.60 and a one year high of $52.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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 initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CFG shares. Citigroup began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

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.