Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 96,067 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,689,082 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 96,067 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.06% of Citizens Financial Group worth $205,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $453,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 292.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 69,851 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,869,000 after buying an additional 52,039 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 655,600 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,368,000 after buying an additional 29,940 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $590,000. 94.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.82.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG opened at $35.82 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $40.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.53. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.60 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

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.

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