Verity & Verity LLC Takes Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,670 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $8,134,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,910,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,974,434 shares of the bank's stock valued at $217,781,000 after acquiring an additional 805,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 29,940 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the third quarter worth $590,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CFG. Raymond James upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup increased 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. DA Davidson upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.78.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CFG traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.52. 6,398,775 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,080,625. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.24 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $45.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.10.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,962,330 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 5.73%. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.