Park Avenue Securities LLC Lowers Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,376 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,496 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Citizens Financial Group by 904.2% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,139 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $170,357.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,401.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:CFG traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,941,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,555,263. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.77 and a 1 year high of $43.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.20 and a 200-day moving average of $35.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 60.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.20.

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.