Quantessence Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Quantessence Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 7,415 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CFG. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,160,954 shares of the bank's stock worth $138,351,000 after acquiring an additional 257,410 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2,285.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 28,651 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 27,450 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 33,753 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,477,000 after buying an additional 15,378 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 56,989 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,494,000 after acquiring an additional 3,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 90,123 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,944,000 after acquiring an additional 32,327 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.06. 3,350,553 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,794,603. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $39.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.43.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 12.21%. On average, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Argus set a $45.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $54.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.18.

Citizens Financial Group 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.