Petiole USA ltd Acquires 26,000 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Petiole USA ltd increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 62.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,454 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group makes up 1.8% of Petiole USA ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Petiole USA ltd's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 68.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 234,155 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,617,000 after purchasing an additional 95,122 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $715,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 134,297 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,516,000 after acquiring an additional 50,273 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,644,542 shares of the bank's stock worth $107,897,000 after acquiring an additional 894,322 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.47.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE CFG traded down $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,582,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,249,085. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.93. The firm has a market cap of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.13 and a 52 week high of $49.25.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 10.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.14%.

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.